Monsters
by Death's Lonely Assistant
Summary: It all started with the ghost boy. The stupid ghost boy...He didn't hate him, he hardly knew the boy, but he sure didn't like him either. After all, he was just part of the never ending puzzle that was keeping him trapped in this place. Au
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or anything related.

Chapter 1

Kadaj held his father's hands tightly as they walked up the stairs to the mansion. He usually didn't hold his father's hand but today was different. They were in Nibelheim at a place called Nibelheim manor. It stood tall and dull at the edge of town behind big black gates. The driveway was long enough but the stairs were just unreasonable. The entire building was just too strange for him and it made him shiver every time he glanced at one of the darkened windows. "How long will we be here, daddy?" he asked.

His dad, Sephiroth, looked down at him and gave him one of his rare smiles, "Just a month." he said.

"A month?" he repeated a little louder. That was a long tie to be spending in a creepy manor like this. He'd expected to only be here a few days, not his entire summer break. This year, his dad had promised to take him to Cosmo Canyon, and they had spent so much time at home, he figured that it wasn't going to happen. But he'd promised and he always kept his promises.

Being a single father, Sephiroth was always busy, and Kadaj understood that. Sure, he had no idea what his father actually did, but he knew he worked at a very large company, maybe a power company, and it kept him busy all day. Even when he was younger, his dad never really had time to play with him and would send an assistant to play with him. Usually, the assistant would be detached and bored, but his latest assistant wasn't like that.

Zack Fair was actually nice and while he liked to play with him, his dad was always his first choice. But his dad never had time, he was too busy and when he did, he was always too tired for him. "Are we still going to Cosmo Canyon?" he asked. Sephiroth gave a small nod that crushed him. He knew that nod. It was the "Don't Count On It" nod.

They reached the front door and Sephiroth rang the doorbell. It was a loud chime that scared him, but he managed not to jump. "Oh man!" Kadaj turned around and saw the assistant, Zack, trying to carry a suitcase up the stairs. "What'd ya pack? This suitcase weighs a ton!" He looked to Sephiroth, "You think you can hire someone to do this for you?"

"Isn't that what I hired you for?" Sephiroth asked. Kadaj rolled his eyes, sometimes he felt that Zack was closer to his father then he was.

The door opened opened slowly and the scent of baked goods wafted his way. Standing in the door way was a young girl wearing a pale blue dress, "You must be Sephiroth." she addressed his father, "Master Hojo is expecting you." She stepped aside and invited them in.

"Where is he?" Sephiroth asked, and Kadaj didn't miss the annoyance in his voice. He engaged in conversation with the girl about the whereabouts of Hojo and he examined the house. It didn't look as creepy as the outside did. There was a giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling above a wide open space. He could only really describe the area as a wide open space that held elegant parties. People would stand around with drinks until the lights went out for a moment and came back on. And when they came back on, someone would be dead. He would make sure to stay away from that area.

The walls were covered with large portraits of men who were probably dead now. There were statues of people that creeped him out because they all seemed to be watching him. The carpers were nice, maybe... He didn't know, they just looked fancy.

Against the right and left wall were two sets of stairs. From where he was standing, he could see that there were halls leading off to probably more halls and rooms. It was a big house, who knew how many rooms and hallways there were. And who knew how many monsters were hiding in them... He wouldn't be wandering this place alone.

Near the left stairway was a door that led to the kitchen. He could see an oven and a few people rushing about. They were servants, maybe they were making dinner. "Kadaj." his father said and immediately he grabbed his hand again and let the man lead him to another room.

This one had a large set of glass doors that he was immediately drawn too. They led outside to some sort of garden. It was weird, Nibelheim was as rocky as mountains can be. In fact, driving up he'd seen little to no plants. Just really big and tall trees, plants didn't grow in Nibelheim.

But here was a big garden. It was a rainbow of different colored plants and fruits. There was even a punch of shrubs that formed into a... a maze? Great, it was probably hiding some sort of murderer. A murderer that was waiting for some innocent child to get lost in there so he could find them. Why was this house so creepy?

"How about I show you where you'll be sleeping?" the girl who'd answered the door said.

"Okay." he agreed, he wanted to see the rest of the house anyway. He followed her to the right staircase wondering if maybe they passed the left one because it was cursed.

"My name is Tifa." she said.

"My name is Kadaj." he didn't really want to talk to her, but maybe he had to. In a mansion as creepy as this, he needed to make sure he knew everyone. What if she was the maze murderer but he didn't know because he was too busy ignoring her?

"Your father requested that your room be near his." Tifa explained, "Master Hojo's room is at the end of the hall." She pointed down the long hall to a door. It was kind of shrouded in darkness, that meant this Hojo person was evil. "This way." she lead him into a room, "My room is in the other hall if you should need me."

Zack entered the room and dropped his bags onto the floor, "Have you guys ever heard of those suitcases with the wheels?" he huffed, "I heard they make carrying them down a long hall easier than ever."

"Your room is across the hall." Tifa said before walking out.

"You don't need me here do you?" Zack asked, "To help you unpack?"

"No thanks." he said.

"Alright, you know where to find me." he said as he left to check out his room. Kadaj walked over to the bags and began to unpack. He'd packed every toy he could think to pack at the time, only leaving out the ones that were too big or too childish. That's why his suitcases were so heavy, they were filled with fake swords, and plastic cars, and comic books and action figures. His clothes were in a rumpled duffle bag, he hadn't taken as much time to pack those. In fact he'd only packed a few outfits because he hadn't thought they'd be staying long.

He took the duffle bag over to the closet and when he opened the door he was shocked to see red marks all over the walls. Splatters and scribbles and odd drawings... was it blood? No, it looked like crayon, someone had drawn everything in red crayon. Was there another kid in this place? His dad didn't tell him about one but he hadn't really told him much anyway. Besides, even if Hojo did have a kid, he'd have to be older now, maybe as old as Zack.

He pushed his bag inside and noticed a stack of papers on the floor. He picked them up and looked through the stack, they were letters. "Oh boy." he mumbled. Scribbly letters in a closet that had red all over the walls? No, that was just asking for trouble! But he sat down and read them anyway.

Dear Mommy,

I made it to the place. It wasn't even hard to find because it was so big. And Hojo can he protect me from the people? Maybe he can protect you too! Hojo is really nice to me but this place is really scary. I know it wouldn't be so bad if you came to visit, so maybe you could make it for my birthday?

Dear Mommy,

I know you wanted to be here for my birthday but thats okay. I still don't like this place. At night I started to hear screams and they sound like a little kids screams. Hojo says not to worry because i'm imagining things. I dont believe him, what if there is a monster and it eats us? What do I do?

Dear Mommy come get me I know why there are screams and I want to come home theres a boy and he doesnt have a name and hojo knew about it and now hes mad at me and hes going to find me

Kadaj rolled his eyes and put them down. He'd thought they would be interesting, but it looked like they were written by a child who only thought he was being scary. Maybe Hojo did have a kid, but that kid seemed boring so he wasn't even going to try to look for him.

His dad would probably be busy until dinner so he would just take a nap until then. He sat down on the bed, not liking how soft it was, before taking of his shoes and trying to get into a comfortable position. As he closed his eyes he thought he saw someone crawl from under the bed and run towards the door.

Every fiber in his being told him to open his eyes again but he didn't, he let himself fall asleep.

XxXxX

He woke up and didn't even give himself time to adjust before getting out of bed. He was going to miss dinner if he slept too long. He ran out into the hall and stopped, it was really dark. This meant he needed to walk, because he didn't want any ghost or monster to hear him.

He stuck to the walls, and slowly made his way to the stairs. The giant glass window provided some light and he could see that it was really late. The rest of the lights in the manor were out too, had everyone gone to bed?

As quickly and quietly as possible, Kadaj hurried into the kitchen, "Miss Tifa?" he said, "Did I miss dinner?" Tifa was on her knees scrubbing the floors and she actually looked shocked to see him.

"Kadaj?" she said, "Uh... I... Your father said not to wake you for dinner. He said you would be tired after the long trip." That didn't make sense, he'd slept through most of the trip and had only woken up a few minutes before they'd arrived. But then he did get really tired after reading those letters...

"I can fix you a sandwich-

"I found some papers in my room." he interrupted.

Tifa ushered him to a small table, "Really?" she asked, "And what was on them?"

"Pictures." he lied, although he didn't know why, she wasn't even listening, "In red crayon." Tifa stopped moving and looked at him.

"That's nice." she said as she began to put together a sandwich.

"What were you cleaning?" he asked. The bubbles were turning pink and it looked cool, "I didn't know bubbles could turn pink, did you buy the soap like that?"

"The soap... Yes, it's a special soap. It's only sold here." Tifa said quickly. She gave him the sandwich and pushed him towards the door, "Have a good night, I'll be sure to wake you for breakfast." she shut the kitchen door quickly and once again he was in the dark. He started up the stairs, nibbling on the sandwich. As he got further up the steps, he could hear something...

He listened closely, slowing down to try and make out the noise. It was music, maybe Beethoven or someone like that, but there was something else. He squinted through the dark and kept moving towards his room, he could almost make out the noise, it was... And suddenly he was running to his room and closing the door. He accidentally slammed it, but he didn't care. He pushed his suitcases against the door and took a breath.

He sat down and tried to eat his sandwich but he couldn't stop thinking about the letters in the closet. Suddenly, they didn't seem like a joke. They were written sloppily in red crayon, but the last one was really frantic... And there was one line that popped out in his mind, 'At night I started to hear screams and they sound like a little kids screams...' It made sense now, if there was a real kid in the house at some point. He'd heard something and even though it was being covered up by loud classical music, he still knew what he heard.

He forced himself to finish the sandwich, although he wasn't hungry anymore, and he climbed into bed. He pulled the blanket over his head and closed his eyes. Now that he knew what it was, he couldn't stop hearing it. Every few minutes it happened and it was scaring him.

Someone was screaming at the end of the hall, a little kid was screaming.

XxXxX

**A/N: This is the first rewritten chapter. I didn't change much at all, but it feels like I did. I just added more detail. Kadaj is 9, Zack is 17, Hojo is 56, Sephiroth is 34, and Tifa is 16. I changed the ages, but not too much. **


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy

Chapter 2

Kadaj dreamed last night, not that he didn't usually have dreams, it's just that this dream was different.

He dreamed of a boy with blonde hair, this boy moved in with a man and he looked very happy. He was young and he ran around drawing on things with red crayon and laughing until he just about couldn't breathe. He wrote letters to his mom but he never found the time to read them, the man would always distract him with the promise of something fun. One day it was late and the boy sat down with determined eyes. He was going to finish a letter and tell his mom about all the fun he'd had. But just as he pressed his red crayon to the paper a scream shook the house. It scared the boy but he was willing to pass it off as a the man watching a scary movie in his room. He was still a little freaked out and couldn't finish his letter. A few days passed after the incident and the boy ran into his room frantically. He looked scared and he grabbed a crayon and a fresh sheet of paper. He would write one final letter to his mom, he had too. But The man got him before that.

It was a weird dream, it was blurry and any sounds made were muffled, except for the bone chilling screams that played over and over. Yes it was a weird dream, especially since he hadn't watched any movies with that plot line, not that year anyway.

Kadaj pushed the blanket off of him and sat up, he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He'd slept in his clothes the night before, and he knew his dad wouldn't be happy about that if he ever found out. _If_ he found out.

Kadaj stretched his arms before getting out of bed and rummaging through his bag for something to play in. He wasn't going to stay inside the house after what he'd heard last night, there was probably a monster eating little kids lurking the halls. But then again, that never actually happened outside of the movies.

He stripped out of his good clothes and threw on some old ones specifically made for play. Maybe he could get Zack to take him around town. He didn't want to be anywhere near the house today. He opened his door and ran into the empty hall, Zack was most likely down with Tifa talking or something, He walked down the hall, taking small glances at the house behind him at Hojo's door.

He hadn't exactly seen the man yet but he was willing to bet that he was an old freak. He probably had a lot of hair and walked hunched over with long nails and warts all over his face. He would have no teeth and look really dirty. But he'd be wearing nice clothes. He'd talk with a high voice that was previously thought impossible for a man of his age and he'd have a weird fetish for feet. He would collect the feet of poor children and keep them in his room where he could gaze upon his collection in private, that's why he didn't want people in there. "I bet his room smells like feet." Kadaj mumbled as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

He spotted Tifa walking into the kitchen and he followed her in, "Miss Tifa, have you seen Zack?" he asked.

Tifa looked up from what she was doing, she gave a small smile and shook her head, "No, I'm sorry. They left earlier for a meeting in town square." she said.

"Oh… right, well I think I'm going to see the town." he said.

"By yourself?" Tifa asked, Kadaj nodded, "That's not a good idea, why don't you play in the garden until I finish up in here? I'll take you to town then." she suggested.

Kadaj nodded and exited the kitchen, he'd told himself he'd stay away from it but it shouldn't take too long for Tifa for finish whatever she was doing. He headed into the garden and shivered as his bare arms got hit with cold air. Maybe he needed a jacket. It wasn't too cold but Zack had said something about catching your death in the cold.

He turned back towards the house when something caught his eye, something running behind one of the many walls of shrubs. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to it. Whatever had gone behind there was still there, he could see it's silhouetted form kneeling down behind one staring at him.

It was blocked by leaves and branches but Kadaj swore he could see a few strands of blonde hair falling over a big blue eye. They stared at each other for a while, to Kadaj it seemed like eternity, before the figure got up and bolted further into the garden. Kadaj opted to follow it, but Tifa called him inside. "There's someone out there." he said to her, "I think it's a ghost like in the movies."

Tifa nodded and put on her jacket, "What did he look like?" she asked.

Kadaj shrugged, "I couldn't tell. He was hiding behind a plant." he said, "But I think he had blonde hair and blue eyes." Tifa halted her movement again, much like she had done when Kadaj had mentioned the red crayon the night before. Kadaj watched her curiously, "Are you alright?" he asked.

Tifa snapped out of her stupor and nodded, "Yes I'm fine, I was just thinking… um why don't you go get your jacket? It's rather chilly out today." she said. Kadaj watched her skeptically before climbing the steps and turning to his hall, from the corner of his eye he saw Tifa rush out towards the garden. He rushed into his room and peered out the window. Just as he expected he got a good view of the entire garden.

It was indeed a maze, twists and turns and dead ends at the most random places. It seemed to him that if one of the maids tried to water the plants, they'd get lost and end up wandering for hours. There were tall trees at the ends of each route and small shrubs making the walls. Once you got deeper though, it seemed to get darker, despite it being early in the morning.

He saw Tifa running into it though, she seemed to know every twist and turn and she didn't stop until she spotted her target. The boy with blonde hair, he was crouched down near one of the tall trees. He couldn't see much from his spot at the window, but he saw Tifa wrap her arms around the boy and lead him into the darkness of the maze. He pressed his face against the glass and squinted his eyes, there was something else there. Another kid, this kid turned and stared right at him. This kid looked like death, only because he was wearing a dark coat with a hood pulled over his face exposing only his mouth. He was holding a knife tightly in his left hand and it was spattered with red liquid. If Kadaj had to guess, he'd say it was blood.

Although Kadaj couldn't see his eyes, he could tell they were staring right at him, burning a hole into his skull. The kid pointed up at him and he mouthed something, Kadaj couldn't read lips but he was certain that the kid said something along the lines of, "That's _His_ room…" he mouthed it again and Kadaj confirmed his thoughts. That's what the boy said, "That's his room." He stared down at the boy when suddenly he felt someone breathing down his neck. The breath was cold and uneven, "No one comes in _my_ room."

Kadaj jumped back from the window and spun around, he expected to see some crazy deformed monster but instead he saw nothing. He shuddered, was that a ghost? He forced himself back over to the window in time to see the boy disappear into the maze, down the same path Tifa and the other boy had taken.

Kadaj grabbed his jacket and bolted out of the house and into the garden, "Tifa!" he yelled, he got no answer and he ran into the maze, "Tifa there's a murderer in here!" he yelled. He ran as fast as his feet would carry him through the maze, he had to find her before the kid did. "Tifa!" he yelled desperately. He stopped upon reaching one of the many darkened paths. He wasn't going any further, it was to dangerous, he'd just get even more lost.

"Tifa?" he called down one of the tunnels, the only answer he got was a glowing green orb thrown right in his face. It bounced off his forehead and rolled to a stop near the dark path. He reached down and picked it up. It felt warm in his hands and it seemed to glow even brighter once he held it near his face.

The glowing died a little and he saw a word scrawled on it in crayon. The orb was green so he couldn't exactly tell what color it was, but it looked red. The word was written sloppily, a little too sloppily for him to read. He pocketed the orb and stared down the path. He could hear footsteps…

He stepped back, the murderer had probably murdered Tifa already. He stared down the path wide eyed as Tifa walked out calmly, "Miss Tifa!" Kadaj threw his arms around the girl and sighed in relief, "I thought you were killed!" he said.

Tifa patted his head gently and chuckled, "Well I'm not am I?" she asked. Kadaj pulled away and shook his head, "Come on, I'll take you to the Mako springs." she said.

"Mako springs?" Kadaj asked, "But what about the boys in the maze? One of them had a knife!" he looked back at the dark path, "He's still in there."

"What?" Tifa asked innocently, "There's no one in here but you and me." she tried. But Kadaj had just seen both of them.

"But I saw you and that blonde kid." he said, "From my window."

Tifa shook her head, "The Mako springs are this way." She took his hand and bagen to lead him out of the maze.

"How do you know which way to go?" he asked, "It's so confusing."

"I had to walk around watering plants for a while, I just memorized it." she said. Kadaj nodded and glanced back at the maze. The materia burned in his pocket and he swore he saw the boy again. But he shook it off, it was his imagination playing tricks on him. He watched too many scary movies.

XxX

Kadaj examined the springs carefully, they were just holes with green mist floating out of them, yet everyone seemed enthralled by them. His mind of course was on other things, the boys and Tifa. Tifa was hiding something, she had the right too, she didn't even know him and he was just a little kid.

But he wanted to know, he was hooked. There were two kids in this house and most likely a ghost in his room, he'd find out everything eventually. The kids in the movies always did. "Hey Tifa? Why is this stuff coming out of the ground?" he asked.

Tifa looked down at him and blinked, he must've snapped her out of her thoughts. What she was thinking of, well he was pretty sure she was thinking of the blonde boy. Or maybe even the murderer hiding in the maze. "Well there's a natural Mako pocket below the earth and it comes out through these holes here." she said, "They used to fly higher, but the ShinRa company built a reactor a few years ago and it started to get lower."

"ShinRa?" That was the company his dad worked for. He peered down into the whole and saw nothing but darkness, "What happens if I fall into it? Can someone get me out?" he asked.

"Well he could." Tifa mumbled.

"He? Who's that?" Kadaj asked.

Tifa jumped and shook her head, "Oh! No one. I was talking to my self." she said, "But if you fell in no one could get you out. It's rather deep and exposure to such pure Mako can kill you." she chewed her lip in thought before looking down at him, "How about we go run some errands? I have a whole list of things I need to buy." she said. Kadaj nodded and followed her down the trail away from the springs.

_Well he could… "Yes I can."_

Kadaj shuddered and looked around. He'd heard that voice again, the same one he'd heard in his room. It was young, yet it sounded raspy, as if the person had lost his voice or something. It was also filled with fear and sadness, yet angry at the same time. Kadaj knew all of those emotions all to well. Sadness from when his dad left for days at a time, leaving him with one of his assistants or interns. Fear when he thought Tifa could have possibly been murdered. And anger… when his dad had gotten a new girlfriend, when he'd started spending the little free time he had with her.

"It shouldn't take long but I figure you can meet some towns people." Tifa said.

"Are there any kids?" he asked.

"Well of course, lot's of them." Tifa answered, "I'll introduce you to Denzel and Marlene. Their pretty nice." she said

"Okay." Kadaj pushed the two boys to the back of his mind, maybe it was all his imagination, he just needed to play with someone.

Town was bustling with people, most people gathering up supplies for the summer and other kids running around playing ball. It must've sucked to have to be in the cold during the summer, there was no pool time, no beach, they couldn't even run around and throw water balloons at each other or they'd catch a cold. It was unfair that he had to spend his summer here.

He saw several people glance at him and say stuff to their friends, "Hey Miss Tifa, who're those people?" he asked.

"That's Marshall and his friend, their bad kids. I don't think you should hang out with each other." Tifa said.

"Bad?" Kadaj looked them over. They were all dressed similar in ratty clothes, they didn't have jackets on like most of the people and their clothes were smeared with mud, they didn't look bad, just really dirty. "They don't look bad." he murmured.

"Well neither did you, but according to your dad, you're a little terror when you don't get your way." Tifa said.

Kadaj rolled his eyes, "And how would he know? He's never home." he said.

"I'm sure he wants to be home…" Tifa tried, she could sense the boys distress on the topic, but she kept talking, "He seems like a loving guy."

"He's not, he didn't even want me at dinner last night." he mumbled. Tifa sighed and let it be, it was none of her business really.

She looked forward and pointed, "There they are." she said, Kadaj followed her hand to see two kids playing near what looked like a water tower. "Hey Denzel! Marlene!" the kids looked up and ran over.

"Hey Tifa look! I found a frog!" the boy, Denzel, said.

"A frog? Are you sure? There's no frogs in Nibelheim, it's to cold." she said, she examined the small green creature in Denzel's hands, "I think it's dead, you should put it down."

Denzel rolled his eyes, "It's not dead, it's sleeping." he slipped it in the jacket of his pocket, "Who's he?" he asked.

"Did you just move here?" Marlene asked.

Kadaj shook his head, "I'm staying here during the summer while my dad does business." he said, "I'm Kadaj."

"I'm Denzel, and this is Marlene." he said. Kadaj nodded and looked to Tifa, who was slowly backing away, "It's okay Tifa, you can go. We'll take care of him." Denzel said.

Tifa seemed to run away, back towards the manor, which Kadaj thought was strange since she was supposed to be running errands. "Where do you stay?" Marlene asked.

"Up at Nibelheim Manor." Kadaj answered. Both kids faces seemed to pale at the mention of the manor. Marlene looked down nervously and Denzel just shook his head.

"Why? There's ghosts there." he said, "Haven't you heard?" Kadaj shook his head, "I tried to tell Tifa not to work there, but she won't listen."

"What's wrong with it?" Kadaj asked. Denzel took his hand and led him over to a hidden cave in the side of the mountain. It was covered by sticks and dried leaves, "What is this place?" Kadaj asked.

"It's our club house!" Marlene said loudly, she was immediately shushed by Denzel.

"Do you want the whole world to find out?" he asked.

"Sorry." Marlene said sheepishly. She pulled aside some sticks and crawled in. Denzel followed and Kadaj stared after them for a second before following himself. The inside of the cave was small and cramped, there were drawings all over the walls and empty soda cans littering the floor. "We come here a lot." she said. Kadaj made himself comfortable against the wall.

Denzel pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Kadaj, "Once Tifa took me on a tour while her master was out. I found these and she told me to throw them out." he said, "But I kept them."

"Obviously." Kadaj mumbled, he started to look through the picture. They were crudely drawn portraits of a man and what looked like his dad. They were usually of a boy being tortured by the man, who Kadaj was assuming was Hojo, or of the two men leaning over the boy. Another common element is that they were all in red crayon. He continued looking through the pile when he saw a picture with multiple colors and a lot more detail than the others.

There was the man, his hair was tied back into a sloppy ponytail and he was wearing a white coat that seemed to be stained in blood. He was standing in front of a table, on the table was a boy in black. His face was covered by a hood but Kadaj could see his mouth. Much like the boy with the knife he'd seen earlier. The boy was frowning and seemed to have several sharp objects sticking out of his stomach. In the corner was another boy. A blonde boy with blue eyes. He looked scared to be there, in his hand was a stack of papers and a red crayon.

Kadaj examined the rest, crudely drawn pictures in red crayon, not nearly as detailed as the one before. He noticed several brownish spots on the paper and he leaned his face in. Blood, it was dried blood.

He threw the papers down and looked at Denzel and Marlene, "Who drew them?" he asked.

Denzel shrugged, "I think it's the blonde one. People say that a long time ago a lady named Aqua had a baby. His name was… um sky I think." he looked to Marlene for correction but she just shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, Aqua started doing stuff with the wrong types of people. One day, they tried to kill her and Sky. So she made a deal with the owner of the mansion, he promised to keep him safe. But… she was murdered and Sky was never seen again. That all happened 3 years ago. The guy who lives there now is named Hojo, he looks creepy to me."

"Sky would be 12 now." Marlene said, "Tifa says she hasn't seen him there though."

Kadaj glanced down at the papers. Yeah she has, he wanted to say. He'd seen the boy as well, but Tifa obviously wanted that kept a secret, and Kadaj was going to keep it that way, "What about the boy with the black in this picture?" Kadaj searched the pile for it and pulled it out, "Who is he?" he asked.

"That's one of the ghosts!" Marlene said, she looked around and leaned forward, "He's everywhere." she whispered, "And he's part of that maze in the garden. That's why we stay away if we go over there."

Denzel nodded, "There's more to the story but I can't remember." he said, "But if I do I'll tell you." he gathered to pictures and placed them under a rock.

"Come on, before Tifa comes back and finds this place." Marlene crawled out and Kadaj followed, "We can play tag." she said. Kadaj nodded and they engaged in a lengthy game of tag, with Denzel being it most of the time. It was almost enough to make him forget about the manor.

Almost…

XxX

Kadaj sat down and waited patiently for dinner, he hadn't planned to eat with them today actually. His dad had come into his room, telling him to dress nice and not to embarrass him. As if that was something he had to worry about. Seeing as it was just him and a bunch of adults, he probably wouldn't be talking much.

Hojo hadn't arrived yet, Sephiroth said he was busy and Kadaj didn't care. He'd rather skip the meeting all together. He hadn't met him yet, but Denzel had said he was creepy. Not to mention those pictures that probably had him in it.

"Remember what I said Kadaj." Sephiroth said.

Kadaj resisted the urge to glare up at his father, he'd just told him a few minutes ago not to embarrass him. It was rather insulting that he thought he'd forgotten already. "I won't dad." he muttered. He was a little shocked, he usually called his dad, daddy. At least he had the day before. Maybe it was the stress of the house getting to him.

"So where were you all day?" Zack asked.

"Tifa took me to see the Mako springs. Then ii played in town." he said.

Sephiroth made a face, "With kids from town?" he asked, Kadaj nodded, "I don't want you playing with those kids. Their filthy."

Kadaj raised an eyebrow, "No they weren't. Marlene and Denzel were really clean. Until Marlene fell. She got dirt on her dress then." Kadaj said.

"They aren't people you need to bother yourself with. They tend to make up things and spread it around just for the heck of it." He said. Kadaj almost mentioned the story of the boy in the maze, but he stopped realizing that would only prove his dad's point.

"Then who do I play with if you and Zack are working and I can't play with them?" he asked.

"Play, you don't need to play. There's a very nice library, you could increase your knowledge instead of letting your brain rot away while you play kickball with a crowd of street rats." Sephiroth said.

"Come on Seph, they're not street rats, their kids, and studies show that play is crucial to child development." Zack said, "Besides, he's nine, he wouldn't understand any of the books in Hojo's library anyway."

"Yes I would." Kadaj said defensively.

The doors at the end of the table opened and the man, who Kadaj assumed was Hojo, walked in. "I'm sorry I'm late." he said, "I got caught up in my garden."

"It's alright, I was just talking to Kadaj." Sephiroth said. Hojo looked down at him and smirked. Kadaj shifted uncomfortably and looked down at his plate. Hojo's stare was creepy, and he also looked like the guy in the pictures Denzel had shown him.

Hojo moved around the table and sat right across from him, "I didn't see you at dinner last night." he said.

"I was sleeping." Kadaj said.

"Wasting your life away in bed hmm?" he said, "Maybe you should go into town. There are plenty of kids to play with."

Kadaj shook his head, "My dad doesn't want me to play with them." he said.

"I can't imagine why not." Hojo said.

"When is dinner arriving?" Zack asked impatiently.

Hojo chuckled, "Right, dinner. Tifa should be bringing it in soon." he said. Kadaj drowned out the conversation, it was boring and he wasn't going to bother himself by trying to understand any of it. Dinner was a steak with sides of peas and mashed potatoes. Kadaj didn't exactly like peas, but with the way Hojo was looking at him, he felt he had too.

As soon as he finished, he excused himself from the table and went up to his room. He closed the door and locked it tight before reaching into his pocket for the materia. He sat down on his bed and looked at the word, he saw that it now said "Help."

He tilted his head and wondered what kind of materia it was, it was dark green so maybe it was a cure or gravity or something. He didn't really know how materia worked. So if he was supposed to use it to help someone, he couldn't.

Kadaj stood up and walked over to the window, he looked down into the maze and saw Tifa entering it again. The sky was darkened and he couldn't tell which way she went, but he was sure it was to see the blonde boy.

He closed the curtains and changed into his pajamas, he needed a good rest for what he was going to do tonight. He was going to search the maze for the boy and get some answers.

XxX

Any questions? review


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own ff7 or anything else but the plot.

Chapter 3

Kadaj cracked his eyes open and yawned, what time was it? He glanced at the window and saw it was almost morning. He was supposed to go out last night after everyone had fallen asleep. It was probably to late now, Hojo and his dad were always up bright and early to leave, so he wouldn't be able to go out until later.

He sighed and sat up, he shouldn't have gone to bed in the first place. He should have just gone out, who knew how long he'd have to wait now.

"T-this is his room." he heard. He snapped his head to the direction of the voice. It was the blonde boy, he was sitting in the closet staring out at him. "He doesn't like people in his room." he mumbled.

"Then why are you in here?" Kadaj asked. The boy shrugged and stood up. Kadaj jumped out of bed and stood in front of the door. "Wait, who are you?" he asked.

"I'm me." he said.

Kadaj rolled his eyes, "Your name?" he said.

"Oh, um. N-not important." he said quietly, "I have t-to go. He doesn't like p-people in his room." The boy stood in front of him. Kadaj didn't move though, he had the boy right where he wanted him, he wasn't just going to let him go.

"Do you live here?" he asked, the boy just looked at him, "Well? Do you?" Kadaj asked angrily. The boy jumped and put his finger to his lips.

"N-no… he'll hear us. He'll know we're in here." the boy said.

"Uh huh, who's he?" he asked, "Is it the boy with the knife?"

The boy shook his head, "No…" he whispered. Kadaj waited for a few seconds then realized he wasn't going to say anymore.

"This boy told me your name is Sky. Is that true?" The boy chewed his lip and nodded, but Kadaj figured he was lying. "Okay then, why don't you tell me what you're doing here." The boy looked away from him, "I'm not letting you out until you do."

Sky looked at him and blinked, "I…I… I water plants in the mazes, near the dark tunnels where no one else will go." he said quickly. Kadaj raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"You're lying…" he said. He heard someone coming down the hall towards his room. Sky ran into the closet and shut the door. There was a knock on the door and Kadaj opened it. "Oh hey dad." he said.

"Kadaj, do you remember what I told you yesterday?" he asked.

"Yes, to go to the library instead of town." he mumbled.

"Good, I won't be back for a day or so."

"What? Why not?"

"Hojo, Zack, and I are going into the mountains, it won't take long." he said.

"Oh, okay." Kadaj made sure to look extra upset, Maybe it would make his dad stay with him, "But maybe one day we could play together?"

"Probably not, I'm busy. But we'll be going to Cosmo Canyon after all this, so let me do my work alright?" he said, although Kadaj was sure his dad didn't care about his opinion. Kadaj nodded and watched his dad walk away, Zack followed with a bag and Hojo walked after them slowly. Their eyes connected and Kadaj shivered. The man probably wanted his feet.

He shut the door and waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps on the floor before he locked the door and went to the closet. "Alright Sky, their gone." he said. Sky opened the door and stayed in there.

"I h-have to go." he said.

"Why'd you come in here anyway?" Kadaj asked. He looked to the door, "_How'd_ you get in here?" he locked the door the night before. Sky pulled a silver key out of his pocket and held it out to him. "Oh, so um Hojo, my dad and his assistant are going into the mountains." he said, "I'm not allowed to play with town kids so maybe we could play."

"I don't know, He doesn't like that." Sky shuffled passed him, he slipped the key back into his pocket.

"You can't leave, or I'll tell my dad you were in here." he said. It wasn't much of a threat but Sky sure freaked out.

He fell to his knees, and looked up at him with wide eyes, "N-no, please… we can play but I have to go out to the maze. I'm not allowed in here while Sephiroth is here."

"My dad's been here before? How do you know him?" he asked.

"He comes here a lot. He doesn't like us." he mumbled.

"Us?" Kadaj said, he moved to stand in front of the door once he noticed Sky crawling towards it., "Stand up." he ordered.

Sky stood up shakily and looked at him, "I n-need to go." he said. There was a tap on the window and both boys looked over, it was the ghost boy. Kadaj moved to open the window, he needed to talk to this one too. But as soon as he moved, Sky booked it out of the room.

Kadaj gritted his teeth in anger and opened the window, "Who are you?" he asked. The boy didn't answer he just threw another materia orb into the room, this one was yellow. Kadaj bent down and picked it up, when he looked up the boy was gone. Kadaj looked out the window and saw the boy running into the maze after Sky.

He threw the materia down and grabbed his jacket, he could follow them, all he had to do was get passed Tifa. He slipped on his shoes and jacket. Then he searched his bags for a flashlight, he would go all the way in this time. He had to, if he wanted answers that is.

He picked up the yellow materia and examined it, there was a word scrawled out on this one too. This one was in black marker and said, "Me." Kadaj set it in his pocket with the other one. He opened his door and walked into the hall, so far so good. He walked past the kitchen and into the living room. He turned and looked for Tifa, he didn't see her outside or in the kitchen, so he had a little time. He slipped outside and ran into the maze. He kind of remembered the way the boys had run.

He tried to go the same way but he was sure he was lost. He'd reached several dead ends before he got angry. Tifa would realize he was gone eventually, she'd come looking for him and would most likely find him. She seemed to know her way around the maze. Maybe if he told her about the boys she'd show him the way. Although the day before she tried to pretend she had no idea what he was talking about.

Kadaj took a deep breath and started walking, Tifa probably wasn't even awake yet. It was really early and the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. He had time.

He walked quickly, peeking around corners and calling Sky. The boy probably wouldn't answer him, but it was worth a shot. And the other boy, he'd call him Ghost boy, he didn't talk at all so he couldn't get any answers from him. Although the materia he threw at him had words scrawled desperately on them, he couldn't understand what Ghost boy was trying to say.

He stopped as he reached the dark tunnels, "Sky!" he yelled down one of them. His voice echoed but no one answered. He took out his flashlight and shined it down one of the tunnels. There were only three, but which one could he choose?

He examined each one, one was a dead end, one went on and another had…a knife on the ground. That was the one he'd take. He walked down the tunnel and looked around, there were articles of clothing lying around everywhere. He bent down and looked at some, they were ripped and wet. He threw them down and continued into the maze. His heart was racing, the tunnel just got darker, and if he was correct, his flashlight was getting dimmer as well. "Sky?" he yelled.

His flashlight flickered as he got further into the maze. He slapped it and shook it. This was the worst time for it to go out, he was too far into the maze for this. He turned it off and kept walking, if he felt lost, he'd turn it back on.

Kadaj walked quickly and tried not to trip over the stuff that littered the ground. There was a lot too, he was probably getting closer to his destination. "I told him it was his room, that he didn't like people in there. He thinks my name is Sky." he heard Sky saying. There was no mistaking his shaky voice, he was close to where he needed to be. He walked into a wall and stopped, this was the end of the maze, yet he wasn't anywhere near the boys.

"He's going to look for you. You should've stayed out of there." someone else said, this one kind of sounded like him, just a little older.

"B-but I had to warn him…" Sky said.

"He wouldn't have gone in there, not until they left, you wanted to see him." the other one said, Kadaj assumed that was ghost boy.

"I'm s-sorry…" Sky said

"We have to find him, before he starts looking, there won't be much we can do if he goes into _his tunnel." Ghost boy said._

"_But Sephiroth will know… he'll get mad at us." Sky said, "We'll get in trouble."_

"_Then you better look before he goes into the wrong tunnel." Ghost boy said._

"_Will you come too?" Sky asked._

_There was silence and Kadaj felt they walked away, his heart almost blew out of his chest when he realized that he was probably in the wrong tunnel, He turned around and ran, he needed to get out of there. He could here it already, harsh breathing following him. Something brushed his shoulder and he dropped his flashlight. He wanted to get it but he didn't want to risk it. Something was following him, probably the monster that was always hidden in the mazes._

_The monster tackled him to the ground just as he neared the opening of the tunnel, he let out a scream and squirmed under it. Claws dug unto his back and he felt the breath on his ear, "You stole my room." it whispered in his ear, his voice was raspy and angry. "Now you try to steal my tunnel."_

"_No I was looking for someone!" he cried out, the claws were drawing blood now, "Get off!" he cried. He squirmed and felt the blood pour down the sides off his back. The monster stopped and put it's claws on his face._

"_Get out of my room." it shouted. It stood up and Kadaj ran. He bumped into someone else, Sky._

"_Sky! There's a monster back there!" he said. Sky looked behind him and took his hand._

"_D-don't come in here anymore." he whispered. He led him through another tunnel to the Ghost boy, "I f-found him." he let go of Kadaj's hand._

"_Did he hurt you?" Ghost boy asked. Kadaj nodded, "Where?"_

"_My back." he said quietly. Sky bit his lip and looked down._

"_We can heal it for you, but you can't tell anyone we talked to you." Ghost boy said. Kadaj nodded and let Ghost boy take off his jacket, revealing his blood-soaked shirt. He felt the boy lift up his shirt and put his hand on his back, "We'll take this shirt."_

_He felt something cold run over him and he shivered. The pain in his back started to melt away. "What are you doing?" he asked. Ghost boy didn't answer, he just took his shirt away and started to wipe away the blood. Kadaj waited until he handed him a new shirt before he started talking to him. "What's your real name?" he asked._

"_I don't have one." Ghost boy said, "Now don't come back here."_

"_I have too, I want to know what you're doing here." he said._

_Ghost boy sighed, "You'll get us in trouble." he said._

"_If you tell me stuff you won't get in trouble. Why do you keep giving me materia?" he asked._

"_To… you have to go. He'll come after you if you stay any longer. And Hojo will notice if you keep digging in his business." Ghost boy said, "Take him out of here c… Sky."_

"_You know his real name?" Kadaj asked, Ghost boy shook his head, "But you were calling him something with a C." Sky took his hand and started to lead him through the maze. "You'll tell me something right?" he asked._

"_I c-can't… but in the library I left my journal. You c-can read it." he looked around, "B-but don't tell anyone. C-can you bring it back to me when you're done? Just leave it near the opening."_

_Kadaj nodded, "Yeah, I will." he said. They reached the opening and Tifa saw him. Sky ran back into the Maze._

"_Kadaj? What are you doing out so early?" she asked, she motioned him into the house and closed the door, "And without a jacket too." _

_He'd left his jacket behind, he bit his lip, "I just wanted to play." he said, "Dad said I can't go into town."_

"_You have toys in your room right?" she asked, she pushed him up the stairs, "Just stay there, or go into the library." she said._

_Kadaj nodded and went into his room and hurried into some new clothes. He should probably take a bath, but he had to get to Sky's journal. Plus, the monster didn't want him in this room, and he wasn't going to argue with it._

_He ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, "Miss Tifa? Can you make me a snack?" he asked. She nodded and pointed to the table. Kadaj took a seat, "Um, you know I heard um…" he paused, she always pushed him away when he talked about it, maybe telling her wasn't good. "He told me to stay out of his room." he said._

"_He?" Tifa asked curiously._

"_A monster. He told me not to sleep there, he hurt my back." he said, "I don't want that room anymore."_

"_Oh… you know…" she bit her lip, "I'll get you a new room but you have to leave those boys alone." she said. Kadaj nodded, even though he wouldn't._

_She handed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "I'm going to the library." he said. He took the sandwich and ran upstairs. The library wasn't far from Hojo's room, he just needed to find the journal. He took a bite and headed into the library. There were 7 long rows lined with books, some thicker then his head. It was going to take a lot of time to find Sky's journal. He should've asked where it was._

_He stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and started to look for the journal. He started with the first shelf, books that were apparently written by Hojo himself. Kadaj hoped the entire library wasn't like this, it'd take forever. And he didn't have that kind of attention span. He walked down the rows of books, there were a few poetry books around, but no journal. He had no idea how it would look if he did see it._

_After walking through 4 of the 7 selves, he sighed and leaned against a case. He'd never find it at this rate. Kadaj closed his eyes and thought, Sky probably didn't want anyone to see it so, it'd be hidden. On the bottom shelves probably. He bent down and started to look, it probably wouldn't have a fancy title on the side either. He smiled as he spotted a tattered book in between two thick ones. It was barely noticeable, but Kadaj was sure it was it._

_He pulled it out and stuffed it into his shirt, then he got another book and went to one of the few chairs near the back. Hopefully Tifa didn't come and see him, she'd take it away from him. He opened up the big book he'd gotten and sat the journal inside of it._

'_I decided I like this place, it's big and cozy, and there's a big maze out back. I'm not allowed into town anymore. Master Hojo says it's for my own good. But that's fine I guess, he says I can write my mommy letters. So I'll do that later. My room is really big, a lot bigger then at home. I wish she could come see it. This house is scary at night though, I get scared sometimes. Tifa came to work here, she gave me some crayons and paper. I'm going to write my mommy a colorful letter in her favorite color.'_

_There was a small picture at the bottom a drawing of Sky and Hojo. Kadaj turned the page and saw nothing but pictures. Some journal this was. He continued to flip through the book until he found another entry._

'_I heard screaming last night and Master Hojo had a visitor, his name was Sephiroth, he came to see something in Master Hojo's room. I wasn't allowed to see what, but I heard noises. I think there's another kid here. Also there's a monster in the maze, his name is Loz, I'm not supposed to go out there anymore. It's not fair, I'm not allowed to do anything anymore. I can't go outside and I can't play in the gardens anymore. What am I supposed to do? every time I start writing mommy a letter Hojo comes and tells me to do something, he says it will be fun but it's not. I don't think that's fair. But I wrote a story for Tifa, she said I'm a good writer, and that most 9 year olds didn't write like this. I also drew all over the walls being loud so Master Hojo would pay attention, but he didn't. I want Sephiroth to leave.'_

_The next entry was in red crayon, 'I met this boy, he won't tell me his name, but he showed me where he sleeps and a way to get there without Master Hojo finding out. He lives down in Master Hojo's basement labs. And he has silver hair like Sephiroth, I think they might be related. I climbed through the vents and went to see him, before I got to him I saw Master Hojo down there with him. There was another person too, Master Hojo was calling him Loz. Just like the monster in the maze. He had silver hair too, but he was a monster, he had claws and pointy teeth. I think he saw me, he turned around and looked at the air vent and smiled, he showed all his pointy teeth. I'm scared.'_

_Kadaj closed the book and slid it under him just as Tifa came in, "I got your new room, why don't we go see it." she said._

"_Okay." Kadaj got up and placed the large book over the journal, "Hojo writes a lot of books." he said ad Tifa led him to his new room._

"_Yeah, he's writing one now." Tifa said, "That's why Sephiroth is here." His new room was next to Zack's, he didn't have much of a view of the garden like before. He was disappointed, but he didn't show it, "I'll start moving your stuff in later. Why don't you go back to the library?"_

"_Alright." Kadaj said, he walked slowly out of the room and back to the library. So his dad was helping him write books? That explained why he was here now and before. Kadaj sat down and picked up the journal. Sky and Tifa knew each other, Loz was the monster in the maze, and Ghost boy had silver hair. It was useful, but it didn't tell him why Hojo wanted them there and why they lived in the maze. He found the page he was on and started reading again._

'_I tried to write a letter to mommy, but the monster came and took me. It scratched me and told Master Hojo I knew his secrets, even though I didn't. So Master Hojo locked me in my room. I don't know why, I can get around through the vents, but Master Hojo is always down in the labs. I went down one day and he was cutting the boy up. There was a lot of blood, I drew a picture of it. Tifa feeds me sometimes, but only when Master Hojo isn't around. She told me the bad people got mommy. I don't believe her, mommy promised she'd come back and get me. She wouldn't just die.'_

'_Master Hojo gave me a shot. It was green and he called it mako. It burns a lot and makes me feel sick, I can barely write anymore. He put me into the labs with the boy, he doesn't have a name, and he won't let me name him. I call him Mr. Frown because he never smiles, not that there's anything to smile about. Loz keeps scratching me and he laughs at me. I don't know why, Mr. Frown is the one who I heard screaming before. Master Hojo likes to hurt him, and so does Loz. But he doesn't cry, which I think is weird.'_

_Kadaj closed the journal and put it in his shirt, he wasn't done but he was tired. He wanted to go play outside with Marlene and Denzel. He could take a nap and go out anyway, Tifa wouldn't care. As long as he wasn't messing with Sky or Ghost boy._

_He went into his new room and got into bed, he needed sleep, he would be doing a lot for the rest of the trip._

_X. x. X. x. X._

_Sky curled up in the tunnel, "I w-wish we had light." he stuttered._

"_For what?" Ghost boy asked._

_Sky shrugged, although he knew Ghost boy couldn't see it, "It's just really dark." he said. He didn't have a problem with the dark, it was what was in the dark. Loz lived on the other side of the walls. The only thing separating them from his wrath was 5 inches of vegetation. And he was mad, you could hear him growling. "Loz is angry at us." he whispered._

"_Yeah, he is." Ghost boy shrugged and pulled a knife out of his pocket, "But he knows better then to come down this tunnel."_

"_But we'll have to go out." Sky said._

"_No, we won't. We're supposed to stay here until they leave. If Hojo finds out that we keep leaving he'll… he'll… do you want me to get in trouble?" Ghost boy asked. _

"_No." Sky said quietly. That was the last thing he wanted to happen to his only friend. "But that boy, he looks like you… and he's here with Mr. Sephiroth." _

"_Sephiroth?" Ghost boy repeated. He glared at his friend through the dark, "Don't say his name again."_

_Sky broke out in laughter, he rolled on the floor and twitched, "Hehe, you angry!" he said loudly. Ghost boy walked over and kicked Sky, that was the only way to snap him out of his crazy stupor, "S-sorry, I couldn't help it." Sky said, he held his stomach and pushed himself up. "He'll want to see you eventually." Sky muttered. He twitched again and sighed._

"_I know but…" Ghost boy didn't know what to say, he knew he hated Sephiroth with a passion. But he didn't know why he was afraid of hearing his name. What Sephiroth would do to him was nothing compared what Hojo did, so why was so scared. "Just drop it." he muttered._

_Sky sat down and waited, "I wonder when Tifa is coming back." he said. Ghost boy sat down next to him. "That boy is going to get hurt, I think that's why he's here." he said._

_Ghost boy nodded, "I know, he'll be one of us soon." he mumbled, a smile breaking out onto his face, "Very soon."_

_0.o.0.o.0_

_Next chapter is the longest I've ever written, 12,000 words. A lot will be revealed abot Sky and his craziness. _


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy

Chapter 4

Kadaj was outside with Denzel and Marlene, he knew his dad had told him not to play with them but he was bored and needed to get out that house. He needed to get his mind off the monster in the maze, and playing tag would be perfect for that.

"Tifa's going to come to my house." Denzel said, "She was gonna open a bar before she went to be a maid."

"She says she makes more money." Marlene said. She walked over to Kadaj, "She used to visit us everyday."

"Really?" Kadaj asked uninterestedly, this wasn't working. His mind was still on the boys and the monster. Kadaj tried to listen, to stay away from the boys like Tifa had asked, but he couldn't. It was too interesting. He figured he better finish with Sky's diary before his dad got back, but he was a little afraid to go back into the maze.

He had all night really, he could go in at night and just place it in front of the tunnel, but he'd have to run fast. Just in case the monster came out of it's tunnel.

Kadaj figured the monster had powers. He had too, how else would he be able to whisper stuff in his ear and get away before Kadaj could see? So he guessed the monster could teleport. It was fast, and according to Sky's journal, it had silver hair, claws, and pointy teeth. It's name was Loz and it liked to hurt ghost boy. He needed to keep reading, the journal was written by a 9 year old, but it could tell him a lot of things, he was only halfway through and he wouldn't have much time to read it and give it back, he was a slow reader.

Kadaj sighed and stood up, "I think I should get back inside guys." he said.

"Oh really?" Marlene frowned, "Will you come back tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah." Kadaj said before rushing away. He made it ti the front gates of the mansion before stopping to rest. He peeked through the gates and saw something running into the backyard. It took a lot of him to resist the urge to run after it. He had other things to do and it was probably the monster.

He pushed open the gates and walked into the mountain. Tifa was heading into her room. Kadaj rushed upstairs and into his room. He closed the door and locked before rushing over to his bed. There was something on it.

A purple materia orb, with the word "Before." scrawled on the side, next to it was a letter. Kadaj looked around and saw his window open, he looked down into the backyard and saw Ghost boy disappearing into the maze. He set the materia down and noticed his coat on the ground next to his bad.

He picked it up and searched the pockets for the other two orbs. He set them on the bed and picked up the letter.

'Sky told me about the journal, I'll come get it when you're done, just put something in the window so I know. And don't make a scene when I get in there. Loz is already mad at us for talking to you, I'm going to get in a lot of trouble. But I figure since you already know too much, there's no backing out. We won't tell you know, but you might as well know it all. If you can find my journal, you can read it. It's hidden in the labs, so I suggest you find it quick, it's not easy to find. I really don't remember where I put it, so good luck, I got the key for you, but you'll have to put it back. So go get it, I don't want it back when you're done with it, I only filled up a little but mines is a lot more helpful then Sky's. It's in my cage.'

Kadaj guessed it was from Ghost boy, it gave him permission to read the journal, as long as he could get to it. He had to put the key back into Master Hojo's room. Kadaj gulped and sat down, he didn't want to go in there. It was filled with severed feet and maybe even the bodies the feet came from.

He shook his head and got up, Hojo wouldn't be home for another day, it was still early. So he had time. But he was still scared, he was sure that there wasn't anything bad in his room, the bad stuff was probably hidden in the basement labs. It was a lab after all, what could he be doing in there?

He stood up and searched his bed for the key, It was lying next to Sky's journal under his pillow. Kadaj picked it up and closed his hand around it, he'd just have to do this quickly. He slipped out of his room and watched carefully for Tifa, she wouldn't like this. She was nowhere to be found so he ran down the stairs. Where was the basement?

He looked around and saw nothing. Where was it? He had to have one, giant houses usually did. In the movies, whenever the detective was looking for something it would be hidden in a secret compartment somewhere.

A smirk formed on Kadaj's face, there wasn't a door, just a secret hatch hidden under a carpet or something. But it usually wasn't hidden to well, he'd be able to find it easily. He started to search for a carpet. The only one he found though was the small rug in the kitchen. He groaned and looked around, where was it? He turned and saw the kitchen door swinging shut, there was a small post it note on the door. He didn't have to guess who put it there, it was in red crayon.

'I forgot to tell you, the basement door is in Hojo's room'

Kadaj crumpled the paper into a ball and shoved it into his pocket. So he had to go into Hojo's room… He sucked in a breath and walked upstairs, he had to hurry. He'd spent 10 minutes looking for the basement. He needed to get in and get out, before any monsters or ghosts came out after him.

He stopped at Hojo's door, it was probably locked. He turned around and looked for Tifa, or any other maids, before he tried to open the door. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked, people who usually had stuff to hide locked their doors.

Kadaj entered the room and closed the door behind him. Hojo's room looked nothing like he expected. It in fact reminded him of his dad's room back at home. It was more of an office, it had a large desk piled high with papers, a bookshelf, then in the far corner was a small bed. Kadaj saw three doors and opened one, it was a bathroom, the next was a closet and the last was locked, this had to be the labs.

He unlocked the door and peered down the dark stairway. Why was it always dark? He let out a shaky breath and started down the stairs. There didn't seem to be a light switch anywhere. It wasn't a far trip down, but it was still creepy. There were creaking noises, but that could've been just him. He didn't hear any screams either, maybe there wasn't anything down there. Kadaj reached the bottom and looked around, it was dimly lit but he could still see a row of cages. Inside one of them was a bunch of broken crayons, most of them being red. That must have been Sky's cage. The next one was empty except for a small book on the ground, it was Ghost boy's cage. The last one was full of ripped up items and dried blood. That had to be the monster's cage.

He reached in and grabbed the journal. Then he ran back upstairs. He threw the key on the desk and left the room. He was entered his room and closed the door. He fell to the ground and panted. He was glad that was over. He stayed on the floor and tried to catch his breath. He felt like Hojo would know someone was in his room.

He stood up and locked the door, then he sat on his bed and pulled out Sky's journal.

''That mako still makes sick. I don't know what do. He took me from my room and put me in his labs with Mr. Frown. He get's hurt a lot, Master Hojo stabs him and cuts him, then sometimes, Loz hurts him when Master Hojo is gone. Tifa still sneaks food down sometimes, but only when Master Hojo is gone, and he's always here. Sometimes Sephiroth's is here and he hurts Mr. Frown. I think they have to be related, they have the same eyes and hair. But Sephiroth hates Mr. Frown. He doesn't hate Loz though, he likes him a lot actually. I don't know why, Loz is crazy.'

Mr. Frown and Ghost boy were the same person, Sephiroth didn't like Ghost boy, but he liked Loz. That sounded stupid to him. Who would like a monster? Kadaj sighed and flipped to the next entry, it was barely readable. In fact a lot of words were spelled wrong, it was weird since Sky had written so good in the last few entries.

'Hojo mean. he hrt me anD I blead. I want Moomy. I wnt tog hom. I cant rite no mure. I cant cuntrol my hands goOd enuph. I keep shaking and stuf. I think it maco that do tis to meeh.'

Kadaj stopped reading and turned the page, he couldn't keep trying to read that, it was giving him a headache. The next one was written just fine.

'I keep going into little frenzies. What I mean is every few days I can't control what I do. I laugh loud or twitch, I can hardly stay quiet. I hate it when that happens, Hojo always says if I don't stay quiet, he'll hurt Mr. Frown. He gets hurt a lot and I can't help him at all. I feel bad about it but he says not too. I'm so hungry right now. Loz gets to eat, he was nice and offered me some. But he was eating a dead squirrel! So I didn't take it. He eats anything you give him, it's gross because he leaves it everywhere.'

The next page was a picture of the monster. It looked normal except for the claws and big teeth sticking out of it's mouth. It was eating some animal and blood was dripping from his mouth. Kadaj wrinkled his nose and turned the page. There were a few more pictures before the next entry.

'I can feel my control slipping away, it's bad because I know Hojo and Sephiroth are about to come down, I hate it. Sephiroth has a new assistant, his name is Zack. He doesn't hurt us but he doesn't stop it either. I'm scared, but Mr. Frown tells me not to worry. He even smiled at me, but that only makes me more scared. He only smiles when he knows something bad is happening, he does it so I won't worry. It doesn't work. I wAnT to go home I turn into monster again and H0jo tell me sTop but I can't I waent mommy! mommy! MOMMY! mommmy! Mommy! mommy! moomy! MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! MOYMMMY! MOMOMYMO! MOMMYMOMY! MOMMY! MMOMMMY! Mommy!'

That was the end of the journal, it must have been recent since it mentioned Zack, he just got there a few months ago. From what Kadaj knew, his dad had only taken him on one trip. The rest of the time Zack was his baby sitter.

Kadaj set the journal down, Sky didn't seem crazy to him. Maybe because he wasn't acting like that when he was around. He crossed his arms and looked to the window, he needed to ask how they knew his dad. And if his dad was actually hurting Ghost boy. He knew his dad, he wasn't a bad person, he was nice whenever he was around. He played with him and read to him. They were even going on vacation after this was over.

Although after reading that, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go. He shook his head and picked up the next journal. It was in better shape then Sky's but it had little droplet's of blood on it. He opened it up and found one large entry. It took up 5 pages and was written really small.

Kadaj blinked and started to read, this one would take a while. It seemed like more of a profile then a journal entry, from what he'd just read, it was written all at once. Like it was written specifically for him to read.

'He came here last year, but I didn't talk to him until now. He was 9 years old when he first got here, I don't think he'll be leaving. Master Hojo seems nice to him, but that won't last. I remember he was nice to me at one point. When _He first brought me here. I didn't expect it, though I should have. He'd gotten rid of Loz the year before. I was two when he got rid of me. I think because he had another kid. This one was named the moment he was born. That wasn't fair, I'd been alive for two years and I still didn't have a name._

'_When Hojo took me in, he called me boy. I remember it really cleary, simply because they are the only good memories I have, although it only lasted a few days. I was two at the time, but I remember it like it was yesterday._

'_Sephiroth kicked me into Hojo's room one day and started talking. I listened closely, he was saying how he didn't want me anymore. I stood up and started crying, I latched onto his leg and buried my face into his pants. But he pushed me away. He just looked at me and continued talking to Hojo. Then he started to leave. I tried to follow but Hojo picked me up. I screamed for "Daddy" to help me, but he just kept walking._

'_Hojo gave me my own room after that. I remember Loz had come in and told me to stop crying, he scared me because he looked like a monster. He had claws and sharp teeth, he hadn't looked like that before. Sometimes if I made him mad, his eyes would glow and he'd hurt me. It's unfair that he has a name too. Why didn't he name me?_

'_Sephiroth came three days later with the new baby Kadaj, he only kept it because the media already knew his wife was pregnant. He couldn't jus get rid of him. But he never brings mommy around anymore. He didn't talk to me, but he talked to Hojo about taking Loz back, he changed his mind when he saw him. That made Loz mad and he took his anger out on me. That's when Hojo started being mean too. He took away my room and put me in a cage in his lab. I couldn't escape because I had to go through his room to get out. But escaping hadn't really crossed my mind, I just kept crying for mommy and daddy to help me_

'_I was his experiment for 6 years. Loz changed from a person to a monster, he hurt me more often and he ate anything Hojo let him eat. But that's also when Sky came. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was 1 year older then me. I knew he would be an experiment too, it was just a matter of time. But he got a lot more time to settle down. It occurred to me that Hojo wasn't going to hurt him. I was tired of being treated worse then the rest so I showed him passages through the air vents that I used to get away from Hojo sometimes. Just like I expected, he used them and came down to the labs to see what was happening. And like I hoped, Loz saw him and told Hojo on him._

'_Hojo got mad and locked Sky in his room. Then he gave me a shot, he called the stuff inside it Jenova cells. It felt weird but then when he tried to hurt me, it healed fast. So Hojo hurt me more and it always healed, but still hurt. He brought Sky into the labs after a few weeks, he even gave him his own cage. He didn't hurt him though. That didn't happen for another month, that's also when Tifa started to sneak us food. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to help me get by._

'_When he gave Sky the shot, I thought he was going to start being tortured like me, but no, it wasn't Jenova cells, it was mako. The stuff they put in people to make soldiers, like with Sephiroth. So why put it in Sky? It doesn't make since to make him strong, he'd just fight back. But the mako didn't make him strong, it actually made him half crazy. Randomly he'd start screaming or laughing, or even crying. But he'd be really loud, Hojo decided to bring me into the situation. If Sky couldn't control himself, Hojo would hurt me. And Sky could never stop, I'd always get hurt. Sky would always be sorry though, I never wanted to forgive him, but I had too. You can't stay mad at him forever, it's impossible. Hojo also made Sky hurt me, he'd make him cut into me or something. I usually try to hold in my screams for his sake, no need to make him go any crazier._

'_Sephiroth started coming back more then usual, he brings his assistant with him. His assistant is Zack, he gave us food once, but I still don't like him. Hojo tells us that Kadaj would be coming in the summer, we'd have to move into the maze. Sky told Tifa, now she's planning something, we were going to leave as soon as Hojo left again. But Hojo didn't leave, Sephiroth and Kadaj came early. He let us out of the labs and told us to go right into the maze while Kadaj unpacked. I went, but Sky wanted to get his stuff. He went into the room before Kadaj and started to search. I waited and waited but he never came back. I went in after him and Hojo took me into his room._

'_It was the worst torture something I've ever been put through. I screamed for hours, but he didn't stop and neither did Sephiroth. They threw me into the maze eventually, I thought I was going to die. But I didn't. Sky keeps talking to Kadaj, he wants to warn him but I keep telling him no. It's none of our business, but I kind of want to warn him too. I don't think they'll hurt him, everyone would get suspicious. I snuck back into the labs to write this, I don't know why I just felt like it. I figure Kadaj will find it and read it, it'll kind of be like a warning, if he can interpret what it means, it's the least I can do for my little brother. Not that he'll come down here without anyone telling him too. I'll have to do something about that.'_

_Kadaj closed the book and stared ahead of the wall. Ghost boy was his brother and he didn't get a name, he was jealous of Sky so he tricked him into looking into the vents so Loz would catch him._

_He was starting to wish he'd never read any of the journals. It was crazy, he wanted to tell his dad about it, but he couldn't not after all this. If they knew he knew about the other's they'd lock him up too. He sighed and put the items under his bed. He put a slip of paper in the window and sat down. What were they trying to warn him about? He knew his dad would never get rid of him, he couldn't. But knowing his dad, he'd find a way._

_There was a tap on his window and Kadaj went over and opened it. "Did you get it?" Ghost boy asked. He climbed in and sat down._

"_Yeah I got it." Kadaj muttered, "What were you trying to warn me about?"_

"_You didn't get it?" Ghost boy asked, he shook his head, "I thought you would, I made it really clear."_

_Kadaj stared at him for a while, "Why do you always have that hood over your face?" he asked. Ghost boy shrugged but didn't say anything. "You know Sky, he said you won't let him name you." Kadaj said, "Why not?"_

"_I don't want him to." he answered._

"_You don't want a name?" Kadaj asked._

"_I do, but not from him." Ghost boy said, he stood up, "Where's the journal?"_

_Kadaj retrieved it from under the bed and handed it to him, "You tricked Cloud?" he said. Ghost boy took it and stayed quiet, "You knew what would happen if he found out about you. So you let Loz see him."_

"_So?"_

"_Why?" Kadaj asked._

"_You read it didn't you?" Kadaj nodded, "Then you should no why."_

"_But there's another reason right? There has to be." Kadaj said. Kadaj walked over to the window and looked out. He gasped at what he saw, "Hojo's back… and he has Sky." he said._

"_Huh?" Ghost boy pushed by him and saw Hojo dragging Sky from the maze with Sephiroth not far behind them. Ghost boy pushed himself away from the window and pulled Kadaj along with him. "Their looking for me!" he whispered, he threw the journal down and ran into the closet, "Please don't tell them I'm here." He closed the door and Kadaj kicked the journal under the bed._

_He unlocked the door and jumped into bed. He needed to pretend he was asleep. He curled up under the blanket and closed his eyes. He heard them walking up the hall, his door cracked open and Sephiroth peaked in. "All that boy does is sleep." he muttered. He closed the door after him and continued into Hojo's room._

_Kadaj jumped out of bed and locked the door again. Ghost boy peeked out of the closet, "He's gone?" he asked quietly._

"_Yeah. Hurry and get out of here." He handed Ghost boy the journal and let him climb out of the window. Kadaj sat down and waited. If he went out, Hojo would think he knew about what was happening. If he stayed in, he'd never know what was happening to Sky. He bit his lip and curled his hands into fists. He'd just talk to his dad when he had the chance. He'd tell him he missed his friends and wanted to go home. Then it would all be over, he wouldn't have to deal with this anymore._

_He stood up and opened his door, "Dad?" he called into the hall. Zack came and answered his call._

"_What's up kiddo?" he asked._

"_Where's my dad?" Kadaj asked._

"_Uh he's with Master Hojo," he said, "But what is it you need?" _

"_I want to go home." he said, "It's boring here."_

"_I can tell him, but I don't think he'd cut this trip short." Zack said. He turned and headed into Hojo's room. Kadaj sighed and went back into his room. They'd come back too early, he was so bored here, not to mention he was in danger._

_He got into bed and closed his eyes, if he slept it the vacation would be over sooner._

_X. x. X. x. X._

"_You haven't been going into the house have you?" Hojo asked. Sky shook his head frantically. "That's not what Loz here says."_

"_He's lying!" Sky yelled, "I stayed in the maze the whole time."_

" _Really?" Hojo asked, "Loz has never lied before. Why would he start now?"_

_Sky bit his lip and shrugged, "I didn't, I swear."_

"_Well alright, let's get Loz then." he threw Sky to the ground and walked upstairs into his room. Sky pushed himself to his knees and looked up at Sephiroth. The man was creepy, he hated him for what he did whenever he came there, but there was nothing he could do to stop him._

"_Where is the boy?" he asked._

"_Uh… in the maze." Sky lied. Sephiroth glared down at him._

"_I'm not Hojo, I know when someone's lying." he said, he bent down to Sky's level and grabbed his hair. He pulled his face closer to his, "Now, where is he?" he asked._

_Sky gulped and closed his eyes, "I don't know!" he said. Sephiroth threw him to the ground angrily. Sky crawled into a corner and curled up. "I don't know…" he repeated._

_Hojo returned with Loz, who was dragging Ghost boy behind him. "Now, let's tell the truth. Loz, have they been in the house?" he asked._

"_Yes." Loz answered._

"_No!" Sky shouted, "He's lying!"_

"_Loz no lie! Loz see him go in house and come out with food!" Loz yelled. Ghost boy sat up and rolled his eyes, how could Sephiroth like him if he was so stupid?_

"_Loz says you steal food as well." Hojo walked over to Ghost boy and pulled him to his feet, "I suggest you tell the truth, or he'll pay the price."_

_Sky shook his head, "No don't hurt him… I went in… I stole food from the kitchen." he said quietly._

"_Well now… who should be punished?" Hojo threw Ghost boy down and looked to Loz, "Well? Who?" _

_Loz's eyes shifted between the two boys before he cracked a smile. He pointed a claw at Ghost boy, "Him." Ghost boy's frowned deepened and he glared at Loz. Why did he hate him so much? Hojo picked him up and strapped him to the table. Loz bounced over and smiled._

_Sky covered his face, he didn't want to see any of it. He turned away and curled up, he wasn't looking but he knew what was happening. It was the same every time, first he'd cut his stomach open, then he'd mess around with his organs until it started to heal. Then he'd make sure every inch of his body was broken in someway. It was a long process that left him almost dead each time. Worst of all, he'd have to hurt him too._

"_Get up here boy." Hojo snapped his way. Sky jumped and stood up, it was time. He shuffled over and looked up onto the table. Hojo pressed a knife into his hand and pointed to Ghost boy's chest. Sky looked at his face, his eyes were squeezed shut and his face covered with blood and tears. Sky took a deep breath and plunged the knife into his friends stomach. A scream echoed through the labs and Sky backed away. Loz chuckled and clapped while Ghost boy cried out. "I think we're done for the day. You will stay in the maze next time hmm?" _

_Sky nodded quickly, "I will." he said. Hojo ripped the knife from his stomach and untied him He threw Ghost boy down in front of Sky._

"_Get out of my sight." he ordered. Sky struggled to pick his friends body off of the floor. He wasn't heavy but Sky wasn't strong either. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and he started to shake. Ghost boy slipped from his grasp again and he bit his lip. "Pathetic." Hojo muttered. He snapped his fingers and Loz scooped him up. They exited the labs together and rushed into the maze._

"_Why isn't he healing?" Sky asked. Loz ignored him and continued on through the maze. Sky followed slowly, "I'm sorry for lying…" he muttered._

"_No you are not." Loz snapped._

_Sky flinched and sighed, he was only sorry because Ghost boy was hurt. Other then that, he was glad he'd gone into the house, otherwise he'd be dead. But, maybe it was better for him to be dead. He couldn't get Ghost boy in trouble, and he wouldn't go crazy anymore._

_Loz dropped Ghost boy at the opening to their tunnel. He walked into his own, leaving Sky to drag Ghost boy in. "Are you alright?" Sky asked. A low groan escaped his lips, "Yeah… that was pretty stupid." he muttered. He set Ghost boy up against the wall of the maze. He sat down next to him and pulled his legs to his face. "I really am sorry for lying." he said._

_Ghost boys eyes fluttered open and he looked over to Sky, "I… know…" he said. He squeezed his eyes shut and grunted, "Don't do it again." he panted and curled his hands around a few blades of grass. Sky found a piece of cloth and wiped some of the blood from his face._

"_You aren't healing like usual." he said. Ghost boy groaned again, "Maybe you should…should… shud…sud…" Ghost boy opened his eyes and looked over to Sky. He was jerking wildly, eyes twitching, and slurring words. He stopped and blinked, "Maybe you should get some rest." he said._

_Ghost boy closed his eyes again, "I'll do that." he mumbled. Sky watched him for a moment before leaning against the wall himself. He closed his eyes and curled up into a ball. His stomach growled and he whimpered, he was starving. He let out a breath and cast one more glance at Ghost boy before falling asleep._

_0.o.0.o.0_

_I cut the chapter into three chapters. I don't like putting up lengthy chapters, it annoys me when I read them so I figure it annoys others too._

_Sky is blonde and I'm sure you all think you know who he really is. He in fact is one of three characters. Cloud, Rufus, or Nunchaku (from before crisis) I'll let you guys vote on it, but I already know who most will pick._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy

Chapter 5

Month two

Kadaj tapped the ground with his baseball bat, "Alright, I'm ready this time." he said. Denzel gave a short nod before tossing the ball at him. Kadaj swung and missed for the 6th time that day.

"You missed it again!" Denzel said, annoyance clear in his voice, "Anybody ever teach you to hit a ball?"

Kadaj sighed, "Sorry," he mumbled, "I'm just really distracted right now… I want to go home and see my friends." Of course that wasn't the only reason, it was the boys. He hadn't seen the boys in a few weeks. He'd seen Tifa going into the maze more then once, but that's it. He wasn't worried about them, far from it. He was just curious, and he knew that if he dug any deeper into Hojo's secrets, he'd be a prisoner too.

"When I'm homesick I go home. My dad takes me home whenever I get homesick." Marlene said

Kadaj shook his head, "I can't, my dad isn't done with business here." he swung the bat over his shoulder and sat down, "But I don't know what he could be doing here."

"He's working with Hojo right?" Denzel asked, "Because I heard that Hojo was some kind of scientist. But he got fired from his last job a while ago, when that boy went missing."

"Where did he work?" Kadaj asked.

"Oh, he works in Midgar like my daddy." Marlene said happily.

"Your dad works in Midgar?" Kadaj asked, "Why do you live out here?"

Marlene and Denzel both looked at each other before Marlene turned her eyes to the ground, "Oh, well… I have to go home." she said. Without another word, she ran back into town. Kadaj stared after her in shock.

"Did I make her mad?" he asked.

"No, but I should check on her." He took the bat from Kadaj and raced into town after her.

"You forgot your ball!" Kadaj yelled.

"You keep it!" Denzel called back. Kadaj stared after them and sighed, what was he going to do now? He certainly wasn't going back into the mansion. He picked up the baseball and tossed it in the air.

"What are you doing with that?" Kadaj jumped and turned around.

"Oh hey dad, I was bored so I came out here to play." he said.

Sephiroth knocked the baseball from his hand, "Don't pick stuff up off the ground, it's filthy."

"No I got it from Denzel." Kadaj said.

"I told you not to play with him." Sephiroth said with a sigh, "Whatever, go back and pack your things. We're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"And going to Cosmo Canyon?" he asked.

"Sure, now go." Sephiroth pushed Kadaj towards town and went off in the opposite direction. Kadaj really wanted to ask him about the stuff written in Ghost boy's journal. But that wouldn't end well, he could not let his curiosity get the best of him.

He ran into town and noticed a group of people. He walked over and tried to hear what they were saying. He couldn't get through the crowd but he heard nits and pieces of it. "He doesn't know yet… I feel bad…he almost found out…"

Kadaj sighed and walked off towards the mansion. He could forget it like he planned to. He walked inside and saw Tifa, "Hey Miss Tifa… what's the matter?" he asked, she was crying. Kadaj walked over and pulled on the bottom of her dress, "Miss Tifa?"

"Oh, Kadaj… you're leaving right?" she asked. Kadaj nodded and looked around. He motioned for her to come down to his level and leaned closer once she did.

"Will you be able to escape with them?" he whispered. Tifa froze and looked away. She stood up and turned away, "Will you?"

"I told you to leave them alone, you're going to get yourself in trouble." she said, "Now go back, you're in the clear right now, don't ruin it."

Kadaj backed away and went up into his room, he halfway hoped they could get away. But then again, Sky was crazy and Ghost boy… was weird, maybe they didn't need to escape. He couldn't care less about what happened to Loz.

He started to stuff his clothes into his suitcase, "You're leaving?" he heard, he sighed and turned towards the door. This was the worst time for Sky to appear.

"Yeah, I am." he said. Sky bit his lip and looked down.

"I need your help…" he said quietly.

"I can't I'm leaving tomorrow, I can't get any more mixed up in in all this." he said.

Sky swallowed hard, "B-but he hasn't healed and… you have the Cure materia…" he said, "You can heal him for me."

"Ghost boy?" Kadaj asked. Sky nodded, "What's he need to be healed for?"

"A few weeks ago Hojo found out that I came inside the house, he punished Ghost boy for it…" Sky said, "He usually heals a few hours later, but this time he didn't… he's still hurt and sick too."

"I don't know how to use materia." he said.

"You have to try." Sky pleaded, "Before Hojo get's back… you have to!"

Kadaj sighed, "I'll try." he muttered. He looked through his stuff for the green materia. He closed his hand over it and followed Sky into the living room. Tifa stepped in front of them.

"Cloud! What are you doing?" she asked angrily.

"Cloud…" Kadaj repeated questioningly.

"He needs help! And Kadaj can do it." Sky said, "So move…" he added the last part a little nervously.

"You can't keep dragging this boy into your affairs! Hojo will find out, and Kadaj be able to leave ever." Tifa said, she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.

"B-but we'll be leaving soon… right?" Sky asked, "Can't he come with us?"

"Go, just go. And hurry up… if this ends badly, it'll take a lot longer for us to get away. I didn't plan for more then 3 people. I'll have start over." she said. Kadaj nodded and Sky led him around Tifa. They ran into the maze and Tifa sighed, she knew it would end badly for that boy.

"Why'd she call you cloud?" Kadaj asked.

"It's my name… my real name." he admitted quietly.

"Cloud? Does that mean Ghost boy has a real name?" he asked.

"No, he doesn't have one." Cloud said. They walked into their tunnel and Kadaj saw Ghost boy lying down near the end. He had silver hair sticking to his face, a thick layer of sweat forming on his forehead, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing. He wasn't wearing his usual black outfit. He was shirtless with a few bloody strips of cloth wrapped around his torso, a few cuts were still exposed and they looked pretty deep. "I tried to wrap all the cuts up." he said. They both bent down next to him, "Can you heal him?"

Kadaj stared at the green orb and back at Ghost boy, "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to use this." he said. He placed it over Ghost boy and waited, "Nothings happening." he said.

"Try again!" Cloud demanded.

"Um alright…" he held it closer and waited a few seconds, "Come on, hea!." he said impatiently. A few green strips appeared and disappeared.

"It worked a little, do it again." Cloud said. Kadaj nodded and repeated the action, this time saying heal even louder. A green mist floated over Ghost boy's body. The cuts slowly disappeared and Ghost boy's eyes fluttered open. He took a breath and sat up. He groaned and put his hand to his stomach.

"What's he doing here?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I asked him to heal you." Cloud said, he tried to push Ghost boy back to the ground but only got his hand smacked away, "You need to rest." he mumbled sadly.

Ghost boy looked at him and sighed, "I w-would've been fine." he said, "You didn't need to bring him here."

"But it's been weeks… and you weren't healing like usual." Cloud said, "I just wanted to help out."

"You better go before he finds you." Ghost boy says.

"Wait what's your name?" Kadaj asked.

"I told you, I don't have one." Ghost boy said.

"But you had to have called yourself something." Kadaj said, Ghost boy shook his head. "Well how about we call you um… I've been calling you Ghost boy, how's that?" Kadaj suggested.

"Ghost boy?" Cloud said with a laugh, "Where'd you get that?"

"I just thought of it…" Kadaj mumbled.

"It's fine, I like it. I'll be… Ghost boy from now on." he said, "Now go." he pointed towards the exit and Kadaj nodded.

"I'm going home…" he said, he waited for Ghost boy's response and for a few seconds there was silence..

"Yeah go." Ghost boy said finally, "Hurry up." Kadaj turned and ran away, he expected Ghost boy to be sad that he was going. That meant he went back into the labs right? So why did he seem like he didn't care? There was no emotion in his voice at all, maybe he was hiding his sadness or something.

He went into his room and finished packing, he sat patiently on his bed and waited, his dad would be back and they could go. Until then, he would wait here and not get into trouble. He wouldn't get involved with Ghost boy or Cloud. He'd stay in his room all day.

A few minutes passed and Kadaj grew very bored. He had nothing to do and he just knew that if he left the room he'd learn something he didn't need to know, he always did. He wanted to sleep, but he was wide awake. He got up and sighed, maybe he'd just go into the library and read one of Hojo's books. That would work.

He stood up and walked out of the room, he made it to the library with no interference. He shuffled through the rows of books and pulled one out that looked a little interesting. "SOLDIER" he remembered his dad talking about it once. He used to be a soldier but something happened and he was "honorably discharged." but he wouldn't talk about it. Whenever Kadaj brought it up he would get angry. So he didn't know much, but he did know that he left the army 11 years ago. 11... That was when Yazoo was born.

Did Ghost boy have something to do with it? Maybe that's why he hated him so much… he'd have to ask them.

Kadaj shook his head at the thought. He had to stay put so that he could go home. He took the book back to his room and set it on the bed. He saw another piece of paper with another materia orb. This one was green as well, a darker green then the cure materia. He picked u the letter and read it.

'Okay so Ghost boy is a pretty weird name, I don't mind though. I haven't had a name before. Everyone just called me "boy" or "it". So thanks. I know you're leaving soon so I'll stay away. But I also know I'll see you again, very soon. This won't be the last time I see you, so bring the materia back next time. I guess this is probably weird to you. I mean you learned a lot about your dad didn't you, he's not the man you thought he was. But you'll forget it won't you? You're going to Cosmo Canyon right? Hojo said something about it, I even saw a book in the library on it. It all sounds so interesting, I wish I could go, but I'm never going to see anything outside of this town until Tifa takes us away. And that won't be for a while. See you soon.'

Kadaj folded the letter and put it into his pocket, he felt bad that Ghost boy wouldn't see the outside world ever. But he couldn't concern himself with the boys or he'd be in trouble, he just needed to keep that in mind. He gathered the other materia orbs and set them down on the bed. They all had words on them, "Help… me… before… he…" it was obviously spelling something out. But the sentence was incomplete, how was he supposed to read it?

Kadaj remembered how he saw Cloud in a dream before he even met the boy. Maybe if he slept, he'd see more stuff. He crawled into bed and pushed the materia under his pillow. He closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep. He made sure that he was thinking of nothing at all so he could have the vision.

For a while there was nothing, then suddenly his head was filled with vivid images and scenes. They all played at once until he heard Ghost boy's voice over it all, "You wanted this." he said.

Kadaj opened his eyes and found himself standing down in Hojo's labs. Everything around him seemed so dull compared to what it was like when he went in before. Strapped to the table was a boy that looked a little too much like him. The boy was squirming and kicking, tears flowing down his face in heavy streams. The straps seemed to be digging into his skin painfully. Another boy walked over, this boy was easily identified as Loz. Loz took one of his long claws and traced it down the boys arm, leaving a shallow cut behind.

The boy calmed his movements but kept crying. "This is your fault." Loz said, it was weird because from what he heard Loz say, the boy was stupid. He sounded stupid and angry, yet now he actually sounded a little smart. "Why'd you have to be born?" he asked.

"It was an accident!" the boy yelled. This was Ghost boy, he sounded scared.

Loz dug his claws even further into his skin, "You can't accidentally be born." he said.

"Well then how'd it happen?" Ghost boy snapped. Loz pulled his hand away and stepped back. He turned towards Kadaj and walked away. Kadaj stared after him and walked over to Ghost boy. He reached out and found his hand going right through the boy.

"What?" Kadaj waved his arm around and pulled it back, "What is this?" he called out. He got no answer, which he was kind of expecting. He watched Ghost boy squirm on the table for a little before he heard people coming into the labs. He ran behind the table and waited.

The voices were of Sephiroth and Hojo. Kadaj peeked out at them and saw them standing near the tables. "Why'd you get rid of him again?" Hojo asked, "He has a lot of potential, he didn't react as badly to the Jenova cells as Loz did."

"I didn't want kids, and I can this one would be a problem."

"So why'd you keep the other one?" Hojo asked, "What was his name? Karaj?"

"Kadaj, I kept Kadaj because people realized she was pregnant before I could hide her. They knew about the baby so I couldn't just get rid of him like with Loz and this one." Sephiroth said, "I don't want him either, he's clingy and loud."

Kadaj stood up and ran around the table, "You didn't want me?" he asked. Sephiroth and Hojo continued their conversation as if he wasn't there. Kadaj walked closer and tried to touch them. His hand went right through them like with Ghost boy. "Why won't you listen to me?" he asked.

"Because you aren't really there." he heard. He looked around and saw Ghost boy materialize next to him, "This is my memory."

"What's happening?"

"Just the usual before Sephiroth's torture session. It's about the same thing usually, me." Ghost boy said.

"How am I seeing this?" Kadaj asked.

"Do you know what Jenova was?" Ghost boy asked. Kadaj shook his head and Yazoo continued. "She was an alien, she fell from the sky somehow and the ShinRa people took her into their labs. They did experiments on it and started to put the cells into people. There were three babies they did this too. Sephiroth was one of them. They were used in the army, that is until Sephiroth had a second kid. The company knew about the kid and told him to leave to raise the kid…"

"That was you right?" Kadaj asked.

Ghost boy nodded, "He refused but they made him go. That's kind of why he hated me so much. Anyway, the Jenova cells gave me powers. I could run really fast and do a lot of other things, even peek into others minds. That's how you're seeing this, I put it into your mind."

"What else can you do?" Kadaj asked.

"I can heal fast and make things explode with my mind, I can teleport and climb walls like a spider." Ghost boy said.

"Teleport… why don't you teleport out of here?" Kadaj asked.

"I tried once, it was before I even realized I could escape. I teleported into Hojo's room and he saw me. He realized the Jenova cells didn't just give me the power to heal, so he did something that made it impossible for me to use most of the powers I had except healing." Ghost boy said, "It stops working every few months and he does it again."

"Oh… so why did you show me this memory?" Kadaj asked, "It's only Sephiroth talking about how much he hates you."

"Look." Ghost boy pointed back at Sephiroth, he was holding a knife and staring down at Ghost boy. Kadaj walked closer and stared at his face, it was a look he'd never seen on his fathers face before. He looked… evil. Kadaj watched him torture Ghost boy, his father laughed and smiled as he stabbed a little boy. Kadaj closed his eyes and shook his head, he couldn't take it anymore. "Open your eyes." Yazoo ordered.

Kadaj opened an eye and found himself in a different place. "Where are we now?" he asked.

"The hospital where I was born." Ghost boy said, "It was a happy moment." Kadaj watched the doctor hand his mother the new baby. His mother smiled and held him close. Kadaj had to wonder why she let Sephiroth get rid of him.

"What should we name him?" she asked.

"We're not naming him." Sephiroth said sternly.

"He's our baby we have to name him." she said, a look of disbelief forming on her face.

"We aren't naming him." Sephiroth said firmly, "I'm shipping him out to Hojo as soon as possible."

"Sephiroth!" she said, "What's the matter with you?"

"If I don't get rid of him I have to quit the army." he said.

"You can't quit the army for your family?" she said sadly.

"No." Sephiroth said, he stomped out of the room leaving his wife in tears. She turned and stared at her baby.

"I'm not letting him get rid of you…" she whispered to him, "You're my baby… Yazoo."

Ghost boy and Kadaj stared at her for a while, "Your name is Yazoo?" Kadaj asked, "You said you didn't have one."

"I suppressed this memory I guess, I didn't think I had one." he said, a sad smile appeared on his face, "What happened to her?" he asked.

"Dad said she died in a car crash." Kadaj said, "But considering what he's lied about… he might be lying." they stood there in silence before Yazoo closed his eyes.

"We should go… I mean you should sleep, you'll be exhausted after this…" Yazoo said. The scene around them rippled and next time he opened his eyes he was back in his room. It was dark and his window was open, cold air was blowing in and Kadaj got up. He closed the window and saw a note on the floor. He picked it up and saw it was in red crayon.

'Mr. Frown told me his name was Yazoo, and you helped him find out. He was smiling and he really looked happy. So thanks.' This one was from Cloud he was sure. Kadaj crumpled it and got into bed, he'd be leaving tomorrow and he needed sleep.

He needed time to adjust to the new names, Cloud and Yazoo. He wouldn't have time to do it; he was leaving this all behind in the morning. He got into bed and went to sleep.

X. x. X. x. X.

Morning came and Kadaj shot up, he ran out of his room and looked around, "Dad?" he called. His father stepped out of his room with his bags.

"Get your bags, we're leaving." he walked by him and Kadaj ran back into his room and grabbed his bags. They were finally going to Cosmo Canyon. He started to drag them out of the house and into the car waiting for them out front. Nothing was on his mind but getting out of the town. He threw his bags into the trunk and waited patiently. Zack came a few minutes later and tossed his bags in.

"Looks like you're ready to go." he said.

"Yup, we're going to Cosmo Canyon." Kadaj said, "Plus this house is creepy."

"Tell me about it." Zack muttered, "I can't wait to go home and lay out on my couch." He leaned against the car and sighed, "Do you love your dad?"

"Uh… yes." Kadaj said.

Zack caught the hesitation and looked down at Kadaj, "You're unsure?" he asked.

"No, I love him." Kadaj said quickly, "He's just always busy." he hoped Zack would fall for it, or he'd realize something was up.

"My dad was always busy too." Zack said. Kadaj nodded and looked towards the house, he could see the two boys staring out of a window on the top floor. Something in his chest hurt, he almost didn't want to leave.

"You know it would be cool if I had a brother." Kadaj said, "I saw a lot of people in town with siblings." Zack nodded but kept quiet. Kadaj saw him looking up at the two boys as well. He bit his lip and looked down. Sephiroth walked out of the house and stopped in front of them.

"Come on, get in." he ordered. They got into the car and Sephiroth got into the front seat and began to drive. Kadaj noticed Zack looking very guilty. "You've been disobedient Kadaj." Sephiroth said. Kadaj pulled his eyes from Zack.

"Huh?"

"Snooping in other peoples business…"Sephiroth said, "What's the punishment for this Zack?"

"Uh, a slap on the butt?" he said quietly, "With a rubber shoe."

"Hmm, it'd be a shame if you died," Sephiroth said, "during your punishment that is." Kadaj noticed the car picking up speed. It bounced over the rocky path and Kadaj grabbed onto the seat.

"Y-you're driving too fast…" he said.

"Let's make a deal," Sephiroth said, a cruel smile appeared on his face, "If you survive this, we'll forget this ever happened."

"What…" Kadaj closed his eyes as the car flipped over and down the mountain. The roof caved in and shards of glass impaled themselves in his face. Kadaj put his hands to his face and tried to keep himself from rocking around to much.

When the car finally stopped he found himself pressed against the roof. His body felt broken and everything hurt. He couldn't move at all, but he could hear just fine. "Is he still alive?" Zack asked.

"If he doesn't get out of the car soon he won't be." Sephiroth said. Kadaj moved his arm and hissed in pain, he smelled gasoline and felt the car around him getting hotter.

"Help!" he screamed. No one came, his vision grew blurry and he closed his eyes. He was going to die… Yazoo's voice sounded in his head.

"Materia." Kadaj opened his eyes and remembered the green materia in his pocket. He forced a shaky hand down towards his pocket and pulled out the green orb. He heard Sephiroth and Zack's voice grow distance and he assumed they were walking away. "Heal!" The green mist floated above him for a few minutes and he felt the pain melt away. He forced himself up and kicked the car door open. He crawled out and looked around. Sephiroth and Zack were still there. Sephiroth smiled and Zack looked relieved.

"So he did make it." Sephiroth said. Kadaj stared at him blankly, he had no idea what to think. Sephiroth took a step closer and Kadaj stepped back. There was a hissing noise, followed by a deafening explosion. Kadaj's body was thrown forward and the materia flew from his hands. Sephiroth and Zack were also thrown to the ground. Sephiroth got up and began to walk away, but Zack stayed down. Kadaj reached out a hand, he could almost see someone walking towards him with the green orb in his hand. Another two people walked closely behind.

"Told you I'd see you soon."

0.o.0.o.0

Tada! Sorry this took so long, I've been with my grandma and she has no internet.


	6. Chapter 6

Yazoo stared down at Kadaj; he'd almost died out there. But Yazoo had known it would happen, he left a note and everything. "Are they alright?" Cloud asked, "Zack was pretty burnt up."

"Remind me why we saved him again?" Yazoo muttered, "He's never done much to help us."

"Well… if we help Zack, he can help us escape." Cloud said.

"And if he doesn't?" Yazoo asked.

"Uh… then we're back at square one…" Cloud muttered. Both boys sat at Kadaj's bedside, the cure materia hadn't done much to help his burns, some cuts healed, but he was still out like a light. Zack had only minor burns since he wasn't as close to the car. They had him tied to a table just in case he was still working with Sephiroth. "Where did Tifa go?" Cloud asked.

Yazoo stayed silent and looked around, "Loz is coming." he said. Cloud shot up and looked around, "Calm down Cloud." he said, "I locked the door."

"But Loz can claw his way through." Cloud said, "What if he gets in?" Yazoo shrugged, in his opinion, there wasn't much Loz could do, Hojo hadn't been around to give him his shot. He had all his powers and there was nothing Loz could do.

They sat and waited for Loz to show up, he came barreling down the stairs and ran up to Yazoo. "Where is he?" he snarled. Yazoo pushed him away and shrugged. Cloud on the other hand turned to the broken body next to the tables. Hojo was on the floor bleeding and, hopefully, dying. "What did you do to him?" Loz asked.

"Just what he did to me." Yazoo said, "A little revenge." Loz jumped at Yazoo but Yazoo was quicker, "You can't hurt me Loz." he said, "I haven't gotten my shot yet." Loz continued to try and scratch Yazoo, but Yazoo only avoided his attacks. He teleported behind Loz and kicked him. Loz fell to the ground and Yazoo poked him in the spine. Just below the base of his neck.

"D-did that kill him?" Cloud asked, noticing that Loz had yet to move.

"No," Yazoo sat down, "It paralyzed him for a few hours. It should be long enough for us to get away." Kadaj shifted on his table and woke up. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and moving around.

Cloud stood up and walked over, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"No…"He mumbled, everything on him hurt, even though he couldn't see any open wounds on his body. He noticed Zack lying next to him and shot up, "Where's Sephiroth?" he asked. He collapsed back onto his table in pain.

"He walked away, I think he's coming back, that's why Tifa's taking us away before he comes." Cloud said, "But she left a while ago."

"We're supposed to be packing up the car right now, but Cloud wanted to check on you two." Yazoo said. He started to walk up the stairs and Cloud followed. Kadaj stayed still and waited for them to return. He went over what he knew in his head.

Yazoo and Loz were both Sephiroth's kids. He gave them up to Hojo and wanted Loz back for some reason. Sephiroth had wanted to give Kadaj up but the media knew about him already. Yazoo hadn't known his name until he saw it in a memory. Yazoo also has powers and Hojo had been giving him shots to keep him under control. Loz was a deformed beast that tortured Yazoo and Cloud was a little boy who reacted wrongly when given mako. Now where did that leave him?

He had no idea what was going to happen now; he assumed that when Sephiroth came back, he'd take him away. But Kadaj did not want to go with him. Not after what he'd seen in Yazoo's memory. His dad was evil and he didn't love him anymore.

Maybe he could go with Tifa, if she let him that is. She'd have to start over with planning if Sephiroth found out; she didn't have that kind of time, but she could try. Kadaj forced himself up and onto the floor. His knees buckled and he almost fell, but he grabbed onto the table and pulled himself into standing position. He saw Hojo's battered body on the floor and Loz a few feet away, gazing at him angrily.

Kadaj stuck his tongue out at him and walked towards the door. He needed to get outside. "Where're you going?" a sleepy voice asked, it was easily recognized as Zack's voice. Kadaj turned and saw him staring up at the ceiling.

"You knew what Sephiroth was planning?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah…" Zack said, he tried to lift his arm's and rub his head but saw they were tied down, "Can you-"

"Why did you let me get in the car with him?" Kadaj interrupted angrily.

"There wasn't much I could do…" Zack countered.

"A simple warning would've done it." Kadaj said bitterly, "I could've ran or something. I wouldn't be hurt like this." Kadaj continued to shuffle out of the room when Tifa entered.

"Kadaj, you should be resting." she ushered him back to his table, "We'll be leaving soon."

"Where?" Kadaj asked.

"I don't know, but we need to get away from this place before Sephiroth comes back." she looked to Zack, "And what about you? Are you with us?" she asked.

"Don't have much of a choice do I?" he said, "Yeah I'm with you."

Tifa nodded and helped Kadaj onto the table, "I can make a small snack for everyone, until then you two need to stay put." she said. Tifa exited the room again and Kadaj was left feeling anxious and worried. He wanted to leave now, he didn't care about food. His stomach growled in protest and he squeezed his eyes shut. Okay so maybe he was hungry, still he didn't care.

A few minutes passed and Tifa and the boys returned. "We need to go now, the whole town's in on it. Sephiroth has ordered them not to let us leave, we have a few minutes before word get's out to everyone." Tifa said. She quickly undid Zack's bonds and helped him out of the room. Yazoo and Cloud helped Kadaj.

"The whole town?" he asked, "Even Denzel and Marlene?"

"Yeah." Cloud said, "They knew from the beginning…" Kadaj walked on silently and let them help him into the car. Zack and Tifa sat up front and Tifa started the car.

"Hurry up!" she snapped. The boys got into the car and Tifa took off down the road.

"Whoa slow down! This is a mountain, you'll drive us off a cliff!" Zack said.

"Oh shut up! We need to hurry, I'm sure you know what'll happen when Sephiroth finds us." she said. She sped down the mountain and saw someone standing in the middle of the road, "Oh no…" she muttered once she saw who it was.

"Is it Sephiroth?" Zack leaned forward and looked, "Shit…

"What? Who is it?" Kadaj looked forward, it wasn't Sephiroth or anyone he knew, but judging by everyone else's reaction's it was someone just as bad, or even worse.

X. x. X. x. X.

Alright! Finally got this up. I realize now that I could have just added this to the last chapter, cuz it's so short, but I liked how it ended. I bet you're all wondering who the guy they saw is. I mean Hojo's just about dead, Loz is paralyzed at the mansion, and they've already said it isn't Sephiroth. I also have no idea who it is yet. I will in a few minutes but until then, Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy

Chapter 7

Kadaj waited, Tifa had stopped the car and now everyone was staring at this mysterious man. "Is he going to hurt us?" Kadaj asked quietly.

"Maybe." Yazoo mumbled, "I don't think he can fight. He might be here to distract us, Sephiroth is probably hiding somewhere."

"T-tifa, why'd you stop?" Cloud asked, "Just drive!"

"Quiet!" Tifa snapped. The car quieted down and everyone stared at Tifa, was she going to leave or not?

Kadaj slipped his hand into his pockets, feeling several orbs that weren't there before. He pulled one out and saw it was bright red. "Yazoo, what is this?" he asked.

Yazoo turned to Kadaj and eyed the red materia, his eyes widened a fraction before shrinking down to normal size. "Summon." he muttered, "Tifa, we found summon materia."

"Well, uh…don't use it yet." she said, she slammed on the gas and the car jerked forward. Kadaj fell back against the seat, dropping the orb in the process. It rolled under the seat and he groaned.

"A little warning next time?" he said. He sat up and continued taking the orbs from his pockets, "Where did all these come from?" he asked, "They weren't here before."

"Yeah and they're all summons." Cloud said.

"No, that one is white." Yazoo pointed. Kadaj jostled the orbs in his hands before Tifa stopped again. The boys jerked forward, Kadaj dropping the orbs again. "What is it now?" Yazoo asked,

"He's back!" she said, "He…he can teleport!"

"Just great! Hojo screwed us over big time!" Zack said, "We just have to keep driving." Tifa nodded and started to drive, Kadaj stared out the window as they passed the man in question. The man looked familiar, really familiar. Maybe he'd seen him before… at home with his dad.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Vincent

A flicker of understanding flashed through his mind, "Vincent Valentine? No, he's a Turk! Not some creepy monster guy."

"Hojo got his hands on him, you know what that guy can do." Yazoo said, "I mean you remember Loz right?"

"So, maybe he's just mad at Hojo? Maybe he wants to help?" Kadaj said, "Maybe we should ask him."

"Don't be stupid Kadaj," Zack said, "He's programmed to be submissive, he'll listen to Hojo."

"But Hojo was a bloody mess on the ground." Yazoo said, "I don't think he could've given any orders." Tifa swerved and the car almost flipped off of the road. "Maybe someone else should drive," Yazoo suggested. Tifa didn't answer, just continued to drive, trying her best to avoid Vincent, who was springing up everywhere.

Kadaj dropped to the floor and began to gather all of the materia again, "What do they summon?" he asked as he pocketed the White orb.

"Monster? The kind that help us?" Cloud suggested, "I've never s-seen one before." The car stopped again and Kadaj was thrown violently against the seat. He groaned and pushed himself up. He glanced out of the window and saw Vincent, he was walking closer to the car. Tifa was probably going to start the car again when he got close enough. Like he'd seen in the movies. But she didn't, she just waited. "Tifa… drive." Cloud said.

"What do you want?" Tifa asked. Vincent stared into the car, his eyes traveling over every person.

"Hojo is looking for you." He said. His Vichada Kadaj shiver, it was so cold and emotionless.

"Yeah, we know that." Yazoo said.

"He sent me after you, but I don't listen to him anymore." Vincent said, "I see a long journey ahead of you. I think it would be best if I came along."

"No! we don't trust you." Cloud said.

"Understandable." Vincent said, "But you won't get very far without me, eventually they will send the army after you."

"What? What are you talking about? Nibelheim doesn't have an army." Tifa said.

"Not Nibelheim, there are other forces stationed around her. It's in your best interest to allow me to come along." Vincent said. He was staring into the backseat, Kadaj followed his eyes and saw him locked in a staring contest with Yazoo.

"I think we should let him come… he was the voice I heard." Yazoo said finally.

"What voice?" Kadaj asked, "You never said anything about a voice."

"Fine, let him come." Tifa said, "But I still don't trust you." She unlocked the doors and allowed Vincent to get in. Kadaj got back into the seat, and watched Vincent cautiously. He remembered how the guy looked when he was 5, he wore a suit and had really nice hair. He looked young and happy and seemed to be in love with some girl named Lu-something. But now… he was completely different. He was wearing a weird, red, cape thingy, and had strange pointy gold boots on. He had a similar glove on her hand, and some red cloth wrapped around his head. Black hair poured down his back and his eyes were red. Kadaj's eyes traveled to the gun holstered on his hip. It was big, bigger then him.

They started driving again and Kadaj looked over at Yazoo, he was staring at Vincent still. In fact, they were both still having a staring contest. "Why are you staring at each other?" Kadaj asked. Vincent slid his eyes to Kadaj.

"You're Sephiroth's boy." he said, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Yes…" Kadaj murmured.

"He programmed you to follow orders… how come you don't listen anymore?" Yazoo asked.

"That hold broke over me 2 years after he set it." Vincent said.

Yazoo's eyes narrowed, "You were in the basement. You told me last year that you couldn't help me. Because you were under Hojo's control…" He said, "You lied."

"Yes, I did." Vincent said, he didn't seem to care that he lied to a little boy who was probably being tortured to death. "But not because of you. Because of Sephiroth." Vincent said.

"That's stupid! You could've helped me… You were stronger then Hojo! But you just sat there pretending too be asleep!" Yazoo said.

"Yes, I did… But only because you are the child of Sephiroth. You were destined to be strong and used for the wrong things. The day when you were begging for help, I thought you would die." Vincent explained blankly.

"And you thought I would be better off dead?" Yazoo asked quietly. Yazoo turned away and stared down at his lap. Kadaj could only guess at the thoughts running through his head. He was probably sad, although he wouldn't show it. He never did, and if he did, Kadaj didn't know it. Yazoo usually had his hood up, it was some miracle that it was down now.

Just as the thought ran through Kadaj's mind, Yazoo put his hood up. Kadaj watched him and saw his lips form into the thin line they always were.

"Where are we going again?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know…

"I think we should go to a cave." Vincent said, "I know they won't be able to follow us there. She keeps them back."

"Who?" Cloud asked.

"Lucrecia." Vincent answered.

X.x.X.x.X

Bum bum buuuummm! Okay, cliffhanger… I think… Anyway, sorry for the shortness, I've been on so many vacations this summer that my mind is on other things. I knew I had to update though, so I hope your happy. I bet none of you expected Vincent, no one! You thought it was someone else, go on, admit it. But you still don't know why everyone was afraid, we know Yazoo was just pissed at him. We know Cloud has no idea who he is. But Zack and Tifa know something… or they don't, it's possible they were just scared. You know a lot of people would be scared if they were on the run and then he appeared, at least I would. Until I saw who it was, then I'd be like, "OMIGOD!" and some fan girl nonsense would start. Review.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy

Chapter 8

Kadaj blinked and stared up at the man, "Who?" he asked. His life was getting too confusing for his own good, too many people were appearing in his life. "Who's Lucrecia?"

"She was... my girlfriend I guess." Vincent explained, "We aren't together anymore."

Kadaj sat back and rolled his eyes, he was not going to get involved with that. He had dug himself into too much already. "Where is this cave?" Tifa asked. She picked up speed and continued down the mountain, "We need to get there fast, I don't know how much longer this car will last."

Vincent told Tifa the directions and she realized they didn't have enough gas to get there. "I should've planned more." she mumbled to herself.

"You did fine Tifa, you were just stressed." Zack tried.

"No, how far did I think I could go with only a little gas? I should have refilled the tank before all of this." she said, "They're going to catch up now."

"No they won't." Yazoo said, "We came to far, I'm not letting them take me."

"Tifa, I believe we'll be able to get clo0se enough to walk the rest of the way. If I can go ahead, I'll bring her to help, we just need to be quick about it." Vincent said.

"Alright." Tifa took a breath and sped up some more. Kadaj closed his eyes and sighed quietly, he was going to make a movie when all this was over. It would be a pretty interesting movie, he'd just have to change things around. It was too confusing for him, so it was probably confusing for everyone else too.

Tifa drove for a while before the car began to slow down, Kadaj watched her face go from calm to panicked. "Vincent, we're almost out." she said frantically, "How close are we?"

"We're almost here actually, maybe a few miles. We shouldn't have to far to go." Vincent said. Kadaj looked out of the window, he could remember them finally leaving the mountains of Nibelhiem and now they were driving through more? What if Vincent had lied to them? What if he had turned them around on purpose?

Yazoo put a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't say anything. Kadaj calmed down a little bit, he was just over reacting. The car sputtered and stopped and Tifa threw the doors open, they needed to get their things and go. "Zack, do you think you can carry anything?" she asked.

"Yeah I'm good, what do we have?" Zack got out of the car as well. Tifa opened the trunk and began to unload everything, "It's not too much..." he grabbed a few boxes and set them down. Vincent got out of the car as well and helped.

"Yazoo, I'm scared." Cloud said, "Are they near? Will they find us?"

"No, we're fine." Yazoo said, "Just calm down."

"But what if Lucrecia can't help us?" Cloud asked, "Shouldn't we just keep running?"

"We'll do what Tifa says." Yazoo said firmly, "she knows what she's doing." Cloud nodded and got out of the car.

"Why do you keep wearing your hood? I know who you are now, you don't have to wear it." Kadaj said.

"I'm just used to it." Yazoo said. He got out of the car quickly, most likely to avoid further question. Kadaj followed him.

"When we get rid of Sephiroth, what will we do?" he asked. Yazoo shrugged and went to help Tifa with the boxes. Kadaj stood back and thought about what he'd just asked. What were they going to do after they got rid of Sephiroth... What were they going to do after they killed his father... He felt a little bad, he kind of turned against his dad. But then again, the man had been hiding things from him and had even tried to kill him, why should he care what happened to the man?

"Kadaj, come and get this box, we need to hurry." Tifa said. Kadaj ran over and took the box from her. It was a little heavy, but he could carry it just fine. He looked around and noticed they had a lot of boxes. Why did they need so much stuff? He wanted to ask what was inside but Tifa and the others were already frantically climbing the mountain. Kadaj hurried to catch up, it was hard going up a mountain with things in his arms. Plus his arms still hurt from the explosion, when would they get to rest? He knew Tifa wouldn't want to stop walking until they got to this Lucrecia person.

Kadaj's imagination ran wild as he thought of how she looked. She probably looked like Vincent, she wore torn clothes and had black hair and red eyes. That sounded right, why else would she hang out with Vincent, especially if he looked like that. Then again, he might not have always looked like that. Hojo had him for a while from what he heard.

"Can you see that light up there Tifa?" Vincent nodded towards a small glow high up the mountain, "That's our destination."

"That's not too far... it'll take a while to get up there." she said.

"I can run up there Tifa, I'm fast." Yazoo said, "I can take Cloud and Kadaj and I can come back for boxes and you guys."

"I'm a little too heavy for you." Zack said.

"But Hojo's experiments made me strong, I can do it." Yazoo said, "I have too." Kadaj could hear the desperation in his voice and was a little surprised, Yazoo never showed emotion. "Please?"

"Alright, just hurry." Tifa said. Yazoo started running and Kadaj blinked, he was definitely fast. He hadn't even blinked twice before Yazoo was back for Cloud. Yazoo had taken all the of them in a minute or so and now was leaning against the walls of the cave in exhaustion.

"Where is she?" Cloud asked. Vincent walked to the back of the cage, where the light was coming from. Kadaj followed slowly behind him, he watched Yazoo walk up to a woman who was... frozen? She seemed to be encased in some crystal or something. He walked up to Vincent.

"Why is she in there?" he asked. He reached out and felt the crystal, "Is she alright?" He noticed the woman reaching for him, was he really seeing this? He pulled away and watched carefully, "She's coming out!" he said in alarm, he backed away. The woman stepped out of the crystal completely and looked down at him.

"You is this him? He hasn't grown much since I went in has he?" she reached out for Kadaj, "How are you?"

"Fine?" Kadaj said, how did this woman know him?

"Lucrecia, this isn't the boy you're thinking of. This is Kadaj, Sephiroth's other child." Vincent said, "we need your help." Vincent talked things out with Lucrecia while Kadaj watched curiously. She didn't look anything like he thought she would, her hair was black and she had green eyes. She looked fairly normal to him.

"I can help you." she said, "Where are the others? Let's get them out of the open." Lucrecia said.

"Kadaj, go get them." Vincent ordered. Kadaj wrinkled his nose at the command but went anyway. Who gave Vincent the right to boss him around? He walked to the opening of the cave and walked over to Tifa.

"Vincent says to go back there." he said, "Lucrecia says to get out of the open."

"Alright." They left the boxes where they were and went back to meet Vincent and Lucrecia. Yazoo made sure to stay behind everyone else.

"Come on Yazoo, why are you walking so slow?" Cloud asked, "Are you scared?"

"No." Yazoo snapped. Kadaj watched the tow, Cloud was twitching slightly grabbing Yazoo's arm in attempts to get the boy to speed up. "stop touching me Cloud." Yazoo said.

"But you're walking so slow." Cloud said.

"Look, we're here." Yazoo pointed to Vincent, "Stop worrying so much." Cloud dipped his head and mumbled a quick apology.

"Vincent tells me you need to escape." Lucrecia said, "I'm not sure how far I can take you, but I'll try."

"How?" Cloud asked.

"I'll explain later, but for now, why don't you rest?" Lucrecia suggested, she motioned her arms toward the crystal.

"You want us to sleep in there?" Kadaj asked.

Lucrecia chuckled, "Calm down, it's an illusion. It'll look as if you're floating in crystallized mako, but really my home is on the other side." she said, "Let me show you." She walked into the mako and began to float. Zack hesitated before sticking his head through. He pulled out and nodded at the others before entering completely. His body began to float next to Lucrecia's. Cloud swallowed and took Yazoo's hand. This time, Yazoo didn't try to pull away, he just lead the younger boy into the mako. Kadaj felt a pang of jealousy, Yazoo was his brother, why wasn't he leading him into the mako? He crossed his arms and followed. The place he ended up in was surprising. It was a fully furnished house, he looked around in confusion.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

"I told you, it was all an illusion." Lucrecia said, "There is a room back there you may sleep in there." She pointed down a hall. Yazoo led the way and Cloud and Kadaj followed. They entered the room and found there was only one bed.

"The bed is so small." Cloud said, "Can we all fit?"

"I don't need to sleep in bed." Yazoo said.

"But I'll feel bad if you sleep on the floor." Cloud said, "We could make room for you." Cloud got into the bed, "It's much bigger up here, come on." They all piled into the bed and snuggled under the blanket. Cloud instantly fell asleep while Yazoo stared up at the ceiling. Kadaj watched the two of them for a minute. He noticed how Cloud eventually wrapped his arms around Yazoo while he slept, he noticed how Yazoo let it happen. He felt jealousy mixed with something else.

He turned away and closed his eyes, he struggled to figure out what the other emotion was and just as he fell asleep, he realized the problem. He didn't have a family anymore, his dad had betrayed him and his mom was gone. Yazoo was technically his brother, but the boy didn't seem to like him very much. He felt alone...

XxXxX

Yazoo stayed awake for a long time after both boys had been to bed. He just couldn't sleep, he could feel everyone around him and it was unnerving. Tifa was panicking, Zack was confused, Vincent was angry, Lucrecia was sympathetic, Cloud was scared, and Kadaj was jealous and alone. It was too much for him. Not to mention he could distantly feel Loz closing in on them. His older brother was determined and angry. He was going to find them and try to kill them. Yazoo smirked to himself, as if, he was too strong for that.

He wondered what the future would hold, if they ever escaped Sephiroth, what would they do? He'd already made up his mind, he wouldn't be leaving Cloud, the boy was too fragile without him, but what about Kadaj? Kadaj was brave, he wasn't afraid to dive head first into things that were none of his business, it would be unsafe traveling with him. But Kadaj was his little brother, one of his only family members that liked him. He couldn't just leave him behind. To top things off, Kadaj seemed hurt and he had to admit, he would too if he'd been in his place.

He turned his head and looked at the boy, he looked troubled. He tossed and turned and occasionally whimpered, he was probably having nightmares. Yazoo sighed and closed his eyes, he knew he'd have to pay more attention to the boy now. He'd go crazy if he didn't, he could tell. Kadaj's jealousy would consume him and he'd end up like... Sephiroth. Yazoo shook the thought away, he would not let that happen, never. "Don't worry Kadaj, we're family now, you me and Cloud, and maybe even Tifa too. I don't trust Zack and Vincent, they've never helped me before. I don't believe they want to help me now either. But if it turns out they're tricking us, I'll kill them and we'll run away together." he whispered, "You know, I never really felt before. Kadaj you really know how to stir things up, but I'm... happy for it... thank you Kadaj." A small smile formed on his lips before he fell asleep.

XxXxX

I finally finished. I know it's short, I'm sorry. I hadn't updated in a while and I felt the need to get this out. I honestly didn't think anyone was reading it, but a couple of people favorited so they must like it right? I'll have the next chapter soon, after I remember what's supposed to happen.


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